Not Yet Time

The WORD today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071616.cfm) reminds me that when it is not yet time, it will not happen. 

They say that if there's a will, there's a way. In Filipino, kung gusto may paraan. People do what they can do achieve something they really want. We do that. We give our best effort. We give our best. We give our all. However, we cannot control everything. We cannot control what will happen. And we will not always get what we want. This is something important to remember. 

Until God allows something, it will not happen. 

In the gospel, Jesus withdrew from the Pharisees to cool off. They wanted him dead, but he knows it is not yet time. So he went away, but he continued to do God's work. As he healed people, he told them not to tell others to keep his ministry discreet. And they did. God's word was fulfilled that no one will hear his voice in the streets. It may seem impossible that people would do that, but they did. It was not yet God's time so he did not get caught even if he was still publicly proclaiming God's word. 

In our lives, we all want things to happen. Promotion in career. Pay increase. Boom in business. Find a partner, settle down and have a family. Healthy mind and body. Restored relationships. We want a lot. We pray for these. And we do our best, we do what we can. However, we should be reminded that until God wills it, it will not happen. God's ways are not our ways. And his wisdom is far greater than ours. So we just have to trust in Him. However, we have to balance it out. We cannot just pray and wait. We have to do our part. We have to pray. Save. Improve ourselves. Learn more. Work hard. we do whatever we can and wait on God to do his part. 

May we always be reminded of the importance of doing our best, and trusting in God and have faith as we wait for his perfect time. 

Father God,

Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love and serve you. Thank you for the reminder. Lord, sorry for the times I get too impatient. Sorry for wanting things my way and my time. Remind me of your great plans Lord. Remind me of your great power. May I always do my best, but have faith and patiently wait for your time for all the good things you have for me. I have faith that your timing is always perfect. Amen. 

Blessed weekend!

In Christ,

-g-

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July 16, 2016
Lectionary: 394
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Mic 2:1-5

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
and work out evil on their couches;
In the morning light they accomplish it
when it lies within their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and they take them;
They cheat an owner of his house,
a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil.

On that day a satire shall be sung over you,
and there shall be a plaintive chant:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are portioned out among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
to mark out boundaries by lot
in the assembly of the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14

R. (12b) Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
Why, O LORD, do you stand aloof?
Why hide in times of distress?
Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,
who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
For the wicked man glories in his greed,
and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.
The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;
“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He lurks in ambush near the villages;
in hiding he murders the innocent;
his eyes spy upon the unfortunate.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus
to put him to death.

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.
Many people followed him, and he cured them all,
but he warned them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.