Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Allan Mechan SVD – Melgar, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
Some years ago I saw a church leader pinning a copy of a program on the parish notice board and heard him telling another that “the people will be glad to know that there is a program for them.” I bit back the urge to say that for the most part the people were not really interested in programs as such. It is true that a good, well thought-out flexible program can be an invaluable tool for fostering growth in the parish, but what the people really will be glad to know is that God has a plan and program for them, and that they are loved and cared for by God, through the ministry of the Church.
The thought of God’s loving us and having a plan for every single one of us is particularly comforting as we approach the end of a year which certainly has brought us both sorrows and joys, a time when perhaps our feelings may even echo the words of the poet Robert Burns: “But oh! I backward cast my eye, on prospects drear! And forward, though I cannot see, I guess and fear!”
In fact, today’s reading from Daniel gives us the first mention in the Bible of the resurrection, and as Christians we are reminded that each of us is always on the journey towards his or her own resurrection and final meeting with Jesus, in accordance with God’s plan for us.
We are constantly moving forward with the help of each other in the Church. Our own personal plans at each moment may not come to fruition as they meet with earthly obstacles, but we know that nothing we do as Christians is ever in vain. It is good for us always to look to God, it is good for us always to know that we are not forgotten.
We can be glad to know that God has a program and a plan for us. Although, like Burns, we cannot see, there is no real need for us to guess and fear, because we know that God’s plan for our own resurrection will be fulfilled.
As members of the Church, may we all be joyful, living reminders to each other of God’s loving plan and program for us all.
