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Because I am the age that I am, I originally wanted to title this reflection “Turn! Turn! Turn!” after the popular 1965 hit performed by The Byrds, whose lyrics use today’s passages from Ecclesiastes. Even while reviewing today’s First Reading, the melody of that song ran through my mind, showing how memorable that 61-year-old song is.
The original words, based on the Book of Ecclesiastes and attributed to King Solomon, remind us that God has a plan for absolutely everything, even those things we think are less than desirable. We get that there is a time to heal and a time to build, but we struggle with the concept of a time to kill and a time to tear down. Is there really a time to scatter, to lose, to rend, to hate? Peace, sure, but war really gets a time as well?
We always need to remember that God’s ways are not our ways, and His ways are so far above ours that we could never understand His plans. We need only have faith in Him and His unending love for us. To paraphrase Bishop Robert Barron in his book Catholicism, if God were a scientist describing physics to us, we wouldn’t understand a word of it. But we would know by the closeness and the warmth in His voice and His embrace that God loved us, no matter what His plan was.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus reminds His disciples of other things to which there is a time and a season, such as when it should be revealed that He is the Savior, and that “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” They didn’t really understand a word of what being “the Christ of God” really meant, but the day would come when they would get it, and they would take that knowledge and spread it throughout the world.
One of the most moving lines in today’s Scripture comes near the end of the First Reading. “He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts…” What is timeless, except for God and eternity? We must strive to keep them in our hearts so that we may be with our timeless God in the timeless joy of eternity. If we fall into sin, we must seek forgiveness and return to that striving — It’s not too late. Until it is.
Debido a la edad que tengo, originalmente poner el título “Turn! Turn! Turn!” (Gira, Gira, Gira) a esta reflexión, tras la canción exitosa del 1965 interpretado por la banda The Byrds, cuya letra utiliza el pasaje de hoy del Libro del Eclesiastés. Incluso mientras repasaba la Primera Lectura de hoy, la melodía de esa canción resonaba en mi mente, demostrando cuán memorable sigue siendo esa pieza musical de hace 61 años.
Las palabras originales —basadas en el Libro del Eclesiastés y atribuidas al rey Salomón— nos recuerdan que Dios tiene un plan para absolutamente todo, incluso para aquellas cosas que consideramos menos deseables. Comprendemos que hay un momento para sanar y un momento para construir; sin embargo, nos cuesta asimilar el concepto de que exista un momento para matar y un momento para derribar. ¿Existe realmente un momento para dispersar, para perder, para rasgar, para odiar? La paz, por supuesto; pero, ¿acaso la guerra tiene también su propio momento asignado?
Debemos recordar siempre que los caminos de Dios no son nuestros caminos, y que Sus sendas se hallan tan por encima de las nuestras que jamás podríamos llegar a comprender Sus planes. Tan solo necesitamos tener fe en Él y en Su amor inagotable por nosotros. Parafraseando al Obispo Robert Barron en su libro Catholicism, si Dios fuera un científico explicándonos las leyes de la física, no entenderíamos ni una sola palabra de lo que dice. No obstante, sabríamos —por la cercanía y la calidez de Su voz y de Su abrazo— que Dios nos ama, independientemente de cuál sea Su plan.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús recuerda a Sus discípulos otras realidades para las cuales existe un momento y una estación determinados; tal es el caso del momento en que debía revelarse que Él es el Salvador, así como el hecho de que “Es necesario que el Hijo del hombre sufra mucho, que sea rechazado por los ancianos, los sumos sacerdotes y los escribas, que sea entregado a la muerte y que resucite al tercer día”. En aquel momento, ellos no comprendieron realmente ni una sola palabra de lo que significaba ser “el Cristo”; sin embargo, llegaría el día en que lo entenderían, y tomarían ese conocimiento para difundirlo por todo el mundo.
Una de las frases más conmovedoras de las Escrituras de hoy se encuentra casi al final de la Primera Lectura: “Todo lo ha hecho Dios a su debido tiempo y le ha dado el mundo al hombre para que reflexione sobre él…”. Debemos esforzarnos por mantenerlo en nuestros corazones para que podamos estar con nuestro Dios en la alegría de la eternidad. Si caemos en el pecado, debemos buscar el perdón y retomar ese esfuerzo. No es demasiado tarde. Hasta que lo sea.
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a retired Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his three young grandchildren. He serves on a Catholic school board and has served on pastoral councils, a building committee and a parish stewardship committee. He is currently a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, vice president of a memorial scholarship committee and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: R Sen, unsplash.com/photos/a-few-metal-pots-ehsEah_Hzb0
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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