Saturday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Sometimes, as followers of Christ, we simply have to admit that we don’t know what God is up to. We may think that if we stay close to God and follow his commandments, we’ll be in touch with his plans and free of confusion. Today’s Mass readings tell us otherwise: David, the future king of Israel who has faithfully served the Lord, feels the sting of confusion as he learns of the death of his king Saul and his beloved friend Jonathan. “How can the warriors have fallen,” he repeats in disbelief. In the Gospel, the relatives of Jesus are so confused by his behavior that they conclude, “He is out of his mind.” The Lord’s ways surpass human understanding, even when we are His closest followers, even when we are His family.
At a certain point, the Christian simply has to surrender. We have to admit that we don’t always know why the Lord does what He does, moves how He moves. It’s confounding – if the Lord loves us so much, why doesn’t he just tell us what the plan is? Why not just tell us how things will work out? But the Lord invites us to hope: in His time, in His way, His will is being accomplished, even when we can’t understand it. Today, in whatever is confusing us or causing us grief, let’s pray for that patient hope.