God's got the best plan for you
Perhaps we should view our loved one as God’s messenger
By Norm McGraw
Even though initially God’s plan may seem a tough road to follow, ultimately, it is a better path for us. As I’ve mentioned before, wouldn’t the Being that made us know us best? The responsorial psalm (Psalm 139:1) for the two readings puts it this way: “You have searched me and know me, Lord.”
Tuesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
I Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 23:23-26
In today’s egocentric society, we are constantly inundated with products designed to supposedly satisfy our immediate wishes. Everywhere we look — on TV, cable, podcasts, or online —we are tempted by items that we want now. That’s a key rule in advertising.
However, life experience has taught us that some things we initially desire are ultimately not good for us. How many times has a friend or spouse said to us, “Don’t do that!” But stubbornly, we “did it” anyway. Later, we discovered that our decision was a terrible mistake. Feeling like an idiot, we wished that we had followed our loved one’s advice.
From a philosophical point of view, maybe seeking immediate gratification isn’t always the best path. From a theological point of view, whose plan is better, ours or the Supreme Being who created us?
The biblical readings from the August 26th mass examine this very question. In the 2nd reading, from the 23rd chapter of St. Matthew, Jesus chastises the Pharisees for being hypocrites. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes (taxes) of mint and dill and cummin (aromatic herbs) and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity.”
You may be thinking that you are nothing like the Pharisees, who later plotted the death of Jesus. But his condemnation of them was also a warning to those who place their interest before God’s. In fact, the Pharisees regarded their own importance as greater than the religious mission the Almighty assigned them. When we make poor decisions by not listening to good advice, aren’t we acting as foolish as the Pharisees, ignoring counsel from the Son of God? In those moments when we exercise poor judgment, perhaps we should view our loved one as God’s messenger, urging us to follow a better plan rather than our own.
Admittedly, sometimes following God’s plan can be difficult. This is evident from the 1st reading, St. Paul’s 1st epistle to the Thessalonians. Thessalonia (Thessaloniki in modern-day Greece) was an important city in the Roman province of Macedonia at the time of Paul’s ministry in the 1st century A.D. A bustling port located on the Aegean Sea, it was home to a population that included Romans, Greeks, and Jews.
Joined by fellow believers Silas and Timothy, Paul had success spreading the Christian message to the population. However, this success fueled jealousy among some Jewish leaders, which led to opposition and riots. Earlier, in the city of Philippi, northeast of Thessalonica, Paul and Silas also experienced success mixed with opposition. Within this context, Paul wrote this letter to the people: “You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our reception among you was not without effect. Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle.”
Paul continued, stating that it is God’s judgment of what we do that matters, not anyone else’s. “But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the Gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please men, but rather God, who judges our hearts.”
Even though initially God’s plan may seem a tough road to follow, ultimately, it is a better path for us. As I’ve mentioned before, wouldn’t the Being that made us know us best? The responsorial psalm (Psalm 139:1) for the two readings puts it this way: “You have searched me and know me, Lord.”
The obvious and logical conclusion is that God always has the best plan for us. To discover it, all we need to do is be receptive to Him.
P.S. Happy Labor Day to you and your family!