It is obvious from the Gospel reading that Jesus knew and understood his mission. “I am troubled,” he says, “but what should I say? God, save me from this hour? It is the purpose for which I came.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if we were so sure about our lives, our mission, our purpose in life? Truthfully, we pretty much flounder around…taking what comes…dealing with it as best we can…succeeding, failing, succeeding, failing…and learning all the while.
Maybe I’m just talking about myself. You may have things more in line in your life. The truth of the matter is, however, we can make all the plans we want but if they are not God’s plans…well, you know how that goes. There is a saying, “If you want to make God laugh…tell God your plans.” We have so little control over what comes our way.
What we can learn from Jesus’ comment is that there is no future in our saying No to God. God always wins! Would it do us any good to say, “God, save me from this illness, this situation, this relationship, this problem, this mess?” No. We’ve tried that and life just does not work that way.
Unlike Jesus, we do not know exactly the purpose for which we have come. We do know what we are supposed to do while we are here. It’s spelled out very clearly…feed the poor, cloth the naked, bury the dead, visit the sick. Be people of faith...people of hope...people whose lives are guided by love.
It is in so doing that we find our purpose. So, as we go through life let us not ask God to save us from this, that or the other. This, that and the other may just be the purpose for which we came.
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