On Unity and The Greater Good

Good Morning dear reader! Today is our last Saturday of Lent. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, and thus will begin our progression into Holy Week.

Well, our reading in Ezekiel is really something. God is saying that He wants unity among His people and His nations. I'm sure that present-day Israel is still praying for this. And I'm sure that God is saddened by what it still happening there. His idea of peace for this nation never really came to fruition. If you take a look at verse 22 where God says "Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms", yet Israel is still divided to this day. I often think that if the Palestinians and the Israelis sat down together and opened a Bible, it would be the end of any war. There is no disputing what God's intention was for these people. Oh, if only it were that easy. 

What is astounding, though, is that despite the constant attacks, the constant war, millions of people STILL make a pilgrimage to Israel every year to walk where Jesus once walked, to see the places where Jesus taught and travelled, to touch the waters that Jesus once touched. The Jews and Muslims seek the same things. To walk in the places where Abraham and Mohammad walked, to soak in that holiness of that place, to visit consecrated ground and to just experience the immense history that is Israel. We need to realise that we are all one people, Christians and Jews and Muslims all speak of God, just in their own way. I pray that one day peace will come to those areas. That the three major faiths can worship in peace and safety. 

On to our Gospel... to start with, the Sanhedrin, they were the Jewish Supreme Court. They were much as our Supreme Court is today. They had the final say in rulings, both political and religious. As word of Jesus began to spread, as testimony of His works took hold, the Jews started to worry. What would happen if all the people started believing in Jesus and stopped believing in Abraham and the teachings of the God of the Old Testament? They felt threatened. It was easier to get rid of this Jesus than try to fight the people. Sacrifice one for the good of all. 

Jesus knew His days were numbered. He knew what was coming. He also knew the significance of sacrificing The One for the good of all. This was His destiny. So,

Jesus left the city and went to some place quieter where He could prepare for what was to come. To spend time with those closest to Him. He also knew that He had to leave because if the Jews spotted Him, He would be arrested, but it was not His time, yet. He needed to follow His Father's plan. And His being arrested at that time was not part of the plan.

Do you know what God's plan is for you? Are you following it? For those of you who, like me, have absolutely no clue what God's plan is, are you being patient and waiting to see what His plan is? Are you talking to Him? Are you actively paying attention to any signs He may be trying to show you? Take some time this week as we take that final walk with Jesus. You just might find your own resurrection story. 

Be blessed, dear reader. And, as always... be a nice human. 😇

Father Bill's reflection on todays readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2Qs1M5mwLo

It's All In The Timing

Happy Friday, dear reader! Rejoice, for the Lord has seen to it that you have awakened and are here! 

The first part of the reading from the book of Wisdom reminds us that life is fleeting, we are only here temporarily. Eleanor Roosevelt once said "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it the present". I think that sums it up pretty well! The other part is that the only sure thing that we can count on in life is that we will all eventually die. It is unavoidable. 

The second part of the reading we see the foretelling of the coming of Christ. The book of Wisdom was written about 150-180 years BEFORE His birth! We also read of His persecution and death. We get the whole story before it even starts. This is why we need to understand the Old Testament before we get to the New Testament. When we finally do see the birth of Christ in the New Testament, we can truly appreciate how His whole life was preordained and that the promise of a Saviour has been fulfilled. 

Moving on to our second reading, again from the book of John. We are slowing working our way up to Jesus's crucifixion. We see more and more the disbelief of some of the people regarding who Jesus really was. The people thought they would recognise who the "true Messiah" was because He would be someone that they wouldn't know, They were familiar with Jesus, as His reputation was spreading like wild fire. There was no way He could be the Messiah. Jesus tries to explain to them that, yes, they know of Him and where He comes from. But, He did not wind up here accidentally. God, His Father, the One they have never seen, was the One who sent Him. Of course, this further incensed the people. They wanted to throw Him in jail, but they didn't. For some reason, they knew the timing was just not right. 

Timing is everything in life. Arrive too early and things haven't started yet. Arrive too late
and you probably missed something important. God's timing is always perfect because He had already set things in motion. To us it may seem like forever, but with God, it's more like in the blink of an eye. In this way, God is teaching us patience. We have to hang in there to see how the story ends. We can't hurry things along. That would mess up God's plan for us. We need to realise that everything in our lives happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is. Even Jesus had His doubts at times. But He knew that His Father had a plan and He had to trust in that plan. And, like Jesus, we need to trust in the plan that He has made for us. We may not like waiting. We are impatient creatures. It is in those times that we need to seek out Jesus and ask Him to help us see the way clear. To follow what He wants for us. It may not be easy, but it will be worth it. With Jesus, all things are possible! 

So, dear reader, just hang in there. Keep steady the course. You'll get to where you need to be. Just not in your time. Ask Jesus to give you peace in the waiting. And as I always remind you, be a nice human, because someone else is playing the waiting game too. 😇

Father Bill's reflection on today's readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=truwsDP_wvY