Sunday, December 30, 2007
"He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’" (Mt 2:15)
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A wise old religious man sat under a mango tree in his garden in the noonday heat and he looked at his pumpkin vines growing nearby. He said to himself, "How foolish God is. Here he puts a big heavy pumpkin onto a weak vine, which can’t do anything but just lie on the ground. And then he hangs those small mangoes onto a tree which can hold the weight of a man. If I were God, I could do better than that."
Just then a bit of a breeze came up and knocked a loose mango off the tree. It fell right on the man’s head. Now he had a bump on his head which made him a sadder and wiser man. "Suppose," he thought now, "that there had been a pumpkin up there, instead of a mango…
Never again will I try to plan the world for God, but I shall thank God that he has done so well." (Tony Castle) [1]
St. Joseph, like Mary, had always been obedient to God’s will for him. Again, like Mary, he had never faltered in whatever task that had been given him, even when he did not quite understand the reasons behind the instructions. Both of them obeyed without questions being asked. They completely entrusted their lives to the Father in heaven and trusted Him, to use them in whatever way it pleased Him.
Almighty God actually has reasons for everything that He allows to happen in this world. From all eternity He foresaw the assassination attempt by King Herod against His Infant Son, Jesus. In order to thwart that murderous intention, the Lord of Hosts directed, through an angelic messenger, the Holy Family to flee into neighboring Egypt, and remain there until such time as the danger had passed.
In order to indicate an explanation for this event to humanity, the Holy Spirit spoke through the Prophet Hosea the words cited in today’s Scriptural snippet.
When we decide to let go of our own wills and to let God freely work within us, we should completely trust Him to do what is best for us. We do not wait to fully understand the reasons behind what is being asked of us, nor do we have to try to fully comprehend why things are happening in a certain way in our lives.
If we act on inspiration completely dependent on the Lord for guidance, He will help us to do what is right or what is needed to be done. When honest mistakes are committed, we have to trust that there are lessons to be learned in those blunders, and that our Father in heaven is still at work within us. What is needed is the humility of heart to accept everything that He allows to happen during our lives.
In reflection, it is now fully understood why things that happened in my life more than a year ago resulted in the way they did. God’s wisdom has been made manifest in all the events that have transpired, and I praise and thank Him for that benefit.
As the above anecdote conveys to us, no one should ever try to question God’s good judgment. Since He holds the world in His hands, He has control over it and knows what is best for all His creatures.
Let us always attempt to completely put all our trust in our Heavenly Father. Let us entrust our whole lives and those of our loved ones to Him. We will never go wrong when we are in His hands.
Just then a bit of a breeze came up and knocked a loose mango off the tree. It fell right on the man’s head. Now he had a bump on his head which made him a sadder and wiser man. "Suppose," he thought now, "that there had been a pumpkin up there, instead of a mango…
Never again will I try to plan the world for God, but I shall thank God that he has done so well." (Tony Castle) [1]
St. Joseph, like Mary, had always been obedient to God’s will for him. Again, like Mary, he had never faltered in whatever task that had been given him, even when he did not quite understand the reasons behind the instructions. Both of them obeyed without questions being asked. They completely entrusted their lives to the Father in heaven and trusted Him, to use them in whatever way it pleased Him.
Almighty God actually has reasons for everything that He allows to happen in this world. From all eternity He foresaw the assassination attempt by King Herod against His Infant Son, Jesus. In order to thwart that murderous intention, the Lord of Hosts directed, through an angelic messenger, the Holy Family to flee into neighboring Egypt, and remain there until such time as the danger had passed.
In order to indicate an explanation for this event to humanity, the Holy Spirit spoke through the Prophet Hosea the words cited in today’s Scriptural snippet.
When we decide to let go of our own wills and to let God freely work within us, we should completely trust Him to do what is best for us. We do not wait to fully understand the reasons behind what is being asked of us, nor do we have to try to fully comprehend why things are happening in a certain way in our lives.
If we act on inspiration completely dependent on the Lord for guidance, He will help us to do what is right or what is needed to be done. When honest mistakes are committed, we have to trust that there are lessons to be learned in those blunders, and that our Father in heaven is still at work within us. What is needed is the humility of heart to accept everything that He allows to happen during our lives.
In reflection, it is now fully understood why things that happened in my life more than a year ago resulted in the way they did. God’s wisdom has been made manifest in all the events that have transpired, and I praise and thank Him for that benefit.
As the above anecdote conveys to us, no one should ever try to question God’s good judgment. Since He holds the world in His hands, He has control over it and knows what is best for all His creatures.
Let us always attempt to completely put all our trust in our Heavenly Father. Let us entrust our whole lives and those of our loved ones to Him. We will never go wrong when we are in His hands.
End Notes for this Bible Sharing
[1] "The Next 500 Stories" by Frank Mihalic, SVD, n. 61, "God’s Wisdom," p. 34, Logos Publications, Inc., Manila, 1993.
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