Gospel Reflections for March 24 2019
…Is it God’s will?
Was the recent Ethiopian Airlines crash God’s will? How about a hurricane, tornado, or an accident on the freeway, or the horrible New Zealand terror attack? Why do these things happen? These are all deadly events and you might wonder how God is involved.
God does not want any of those events! Although maybe hard to see at first, they are all actually the result of our own actions.
God never asked us to build airplanes or cars, or build homes where hurricanes, tornadoes or earthquakes have occurred naturally for centuries. Cars, planes, and the weather simply follow the natural laws of physics God made. God also gave us free will and if we build or operate machines badly, bad things happen. If we build homes in danger zones, we naturally take a risk.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus recalls several recent news items. The people heard that the cruel Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate, had executed people, and that 18 people died in a tragic tower collapse. People assumed they deserved it and that God had punished them.
Jesus affirms that God never sends punishments. These tragedies are never His will! This Gospel should finally end the superstitious idea that bad events are ever God’s plan. God only wills your happiness!
Jesus then references a fig tree that has bad fruit and that a gardener wants to cut down.
It certainly does make sense to remove it, but Jesus asks for patience, and to give the tree more time to change. So is His patience with you as well.
People certainly make bad choices, such as building in the wrong place, not maintaining airplanes or driving safely, or killing people as Pilate and terrorists have done. You would think that God would have every right to cut them down too. This Gospel says different. God wants to offer the time to change.
Lent is precisely the time to take another look at yourself too and the choices you make.
Have you ever sped up to beat a red light? Don’t do that anymore! You can decide to drive safely. Can you prepare your home for an earthquake? Why not now? (See my article on Emergency Planning) Can you eat healthier or exercise more? Why not now? There is much you can do to change your world by your own decisions and right in the world where you live now.
https://daveheney.com/wp-content/uploads/Emergency-Planning.pdf
That is definitely God’s will!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Thank you Fr. Dave, you just motivated me to make a couple changes in my life. I pray many more people get the message to change there lives, and if so will change others for the better. We ALL need to unite as one happy family.
Well said!
Well said. Thank you for explaining it so clearly and succinctly.
You are very welcome!
Dear Father Dave,
I am wondering if bad things that happen to us are always our fault. I know that God only loves us, but sometimes it is hard to think that bad things are our fault.
When good things happen to us we can sometimes see that our actions were responsible for what happened. But I have had experiences in which I believe that I was not the cause. I then say, “This is a gift from God; God is good!” I think that we are not always responsible for good things that happen to us. Could it be that we are not responsible for all bad things that happen to us?
But I have to admit that some things happen in my life that I think are bad, and subsequently I see that they happened for the good after all. So my conclusion is that a) God is good to us, and b) we don’t always understand how God is working in our lives.
I think you have reflected on these issues with much wisdom.
I know God only wants what is good for us and it is up to us to make good choices. Sometimes we fall short. Thanks God his is a forgiving God & still loves us even when we fall & fail…I will keep trying..
Lent us that perfect time for renewal.
Thanks for the reminders ♥️
Yes, that is exactly what Lent is for. Well said!
Thank you, Fr. Dave, for explaining the differences between God’s will
and our way.
It is good to know that He will work with us in His way whether we live
responsibly or not, because God is Love.
Yes, He will always be with us no matter what.
I like the way He talked sbout the fig tree. The response was that I will cultivate and give it special care to see if it will improve. I`d like to think that God doesn`t give up on us and during the hard times He is there holding us up if we would only reach out to Him.
God is always the GOOD GARDENER doing everything He can to help us grow.
I have always believed that God embraces us in love!! Bad occurances occur sometimes due to our making wrong choices and sometimes due to the choices of others but our loving God tries to send goodness and love to heal the hurts in our life!! God is Love!!! Loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee our precious God for giving us life!! Let’s stand up to the world and preserve the gift of life!! Then love and goodness will flow everywhere!! We have to change the world to love!! Each one of us!! Thank you Father Dave for giving us the gift of God and the gift of our Jesus!! Beautiful Faith, Beautiful Life!!!
Thank you!
Timely subject for all of us, Fr. Dave! I think there is another consideration: God simply “allows” bad things to happen NOT because He wants it or wills it to happen OR that it is our negligent fault. I think He doesn’t interfere because He knows good can come out of bad if we accept what is happening and trust in His steadfast love for us AND trust that He is WITH us through any and all hardship or pain or loss or disaster we find ourselves in. i.e. those who lost everything in these past fires and floods or those who are dying from some terrible illness.
He never promised us a rose garden, but did promise that He would be with us, helping, supporting and guiding us through any and ALL adversity. (the ‘ol story of Job in the bible!)
BUT every now and then…..He will step in and bestow on us a miracle; for reasons only He knows but for us to be eternally grateful for!
Laus Deo, see you at the next Legatus meeting!
Excellent response! And a timely connection with the fires in Ventura County and Northern California as well. Yes, Our Lord’s final words to us were not that He would remove suffering, but that he would be by our side to help us through it.