God's Timeline

2 Peter 3: 8-9

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

I am thankful for God's mercy, flex timeline, and patience. Lord knows I need it, and through this I pray to express the same mercy, patience, and flexibility to all I encounter. Amen. 

Luke 21: 34-35 -- "That Day"

Luke 21: 34-35

‘Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 

Anxiety has robbed me of much joy in life. And I can certainly be weighed down by it. The gospel writer mentions "that day," and contextually it refers to Christ's second coming. But I wonder if "that day" is the end of this life and the beginning of eternal life. When I come to die, will I have been preoccupied by stress and nonsense? I pray to be wrapped in the love of those around me rather than anxiety-inducing news media, social media, people pleasing, gossip, and money. Is that what Jesus means?

Psalm 25: God's Mercy

Psalm 25: 6-7 

6 Lord, remember your mercy and love

    that you have shown since long ago.

7 Do not remember the sins

    and wrong things I did when I was young.

But remember to love me always

    because you are good, Lord. 

God is all merciful and all forgiving, which counters our human understanding. There are many "wrong things I did when I was young" that, upon remembering, I cringe with guilt and regret. This Davidic psalm, however, reminds me of God's mercy, forgiveness, and love. 

Christ the King

To [Jesus Christ] who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Revelation 1: 5B-6

Matthew 21:23-27 -- What is True Authority?

"A person with ‘authority’ is not just someone who wields coercive power over others. The exercise of genuine authority is not to control, to keep in line but, on the contrary, to be an agent in releasing the potential that is in people, to be an empowering agent. Jesus did not wield coercive authority. He invited people to follow him. He came to serve not be served. He came to give life, life in its fullness. He came to lead people into the full development of all they could be and were meant to be."

Frank Doyle, SJ

https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/a1032g/