Most of us confess that we are not ready for summertime to pass and I, for one, feel offended that the trees in the Training Field outside of the office have already begun shedding their leaves!
But as the passage from the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us all: “There is an appointed time for everything and a time for every affair under the heavens” (3:1). The movement of the seasons, each flowing one into another, without anyone of us understanding the mystery and beauty of it all is both humbling and awesome; for it is God who sets the appointed time, even though many of us often resist that truth. We prefer to think that we are in control.
So how can we face change as a blessing rather than a burden?
I have come to believe that our God is a God who turns all things to good, and the more we expect to be surprised by God’s gracious love, the more it happens, even in difficult times. When we turn the page, sometimes reluctantly, and find the next page offers something unfamiliar, unappealing, even painful, that is the exact moment to trust God and to look with anticipation for the blessing God has packed into this new “page.” Our openness to the challenge results in it becoming fruitful in countless ways.
Isn’t it possible that our Creator God has so constructed our lives that the constancy of change is exactly meant to be an ongoing invitation for us to look toward God and trust that a blessing will come out of whatever difficulty we are facing? In all this we call to mind the words of Scripture, Nothing is impossible with God. Actually I have come to prefer turning that phrase around, Everything is possible for God.
Come September I no longer have to go back to school and all that, yet I still
feel a resistance to letting go of the summer season. To savor its beauty and all the loveliness of this time of year is a good preparation for the next movement of God’s work – the autumn. Seeing God’s hand in all of life can help us to let go and appreciate all of God’s marvelous work. Further we can see that God is also working in each of us, as we face the unfolding of own seasons of life.
So, letting go of summer as a metaphor for life can help us to learn to trust a bit more in God’s wonderful plan for us and all that surrounds us in this special time of year. Truth to tell, autumn seasons can hold blessings for all of us!
Fr. Ronan
Twenty-Second Sunday
Ordinary Time – August 29/30, 2020
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus brings up the topic of the cross to his
followers. They would not realize the cross was part of God’s plan and
was to be their legacy until after the Resurrection.
Today’s followers of Christ recognize they are stewards of his entire legacy, including his cross; that through their mutual sacrifices God’s glory is revealed. They don’t live their lives in Christ only when it is convenient for them. They make a decision to take up their cross and carry it, no matter what the cost. In the midst of the uncertain times we live in, what crosses do we bear in order to reveal God’s glory? – ICSC bulletin