psalm 33: my plan & god's plan. december 21

As has been my practice in this chapel, I have for the past 7 months reflected on the responsorial psalm of the mass.  For those who do not known the reason why, I will repeat it again, but in an abbreviated form, short lang.  I am reflecting on the responsorial psalm because I have already finished the gospels – Year A, B and C for Sundays and also the weekdays.  I have also finished reflecting on the first readings of the mass Year 1 and 2, and I have also finished reflecting on the second readings of the mass.  Now I am in the responsorial psalm. 

Actually this is my way of telling my superiors that I have been already too long in my present assignment in the seminary and I need to be transferred, I need to be reassigned.  In fact I have already been too long here in Sto Nino Chapel every Tuesday bilang bahin sang akon seminary duty, I have been too long here already kon kaisa nagasulit-sulit na ang akon homily.  So kaina instead of greeting you kuntani the "Lord be with you," I would have wanted to greet you, "I am tired of you."  And then I hope you would have also responded, "and also with you".  That way we can tell the bishop and Fr. Boboy that our feelings are mutual. 

Anyway I am reflecting on the responsorial psalms of the mass, specifically Psalm 33.  Sometimes we may not be aware of it, pero ang Dios kabalo gid magpalagtik, kabalo gid sia magpabati-bati sa aton tanan.

The second stanza of the Psalm says: "But the plan of the LORD stands forever; the design of his heart, through all generations."  The plan of the Lord.  When the psalm says the plan of the Lord it can only mean that there are other plans aside from the plan of the Lord.  And no, it is not just Plan A and Plan B.  No.  There is the Lord's plan and my plan; there is the Lord's plan and your plan, there is the Lord's plan and our plan.  Kon kaisa it becomes even more complicated – there is the Lord's plan for me, there is my plan for me, there is my parent's plan for me – adjus ta umintra pa gid ang lola, may lola's plan pa gid!  Kagamo.

But it is ok to have other plans, it wouldn't hurt to have other plans for as long as we always bear in mind what the psalm says  - "the plan of the Lord stands forever, the design of his heart through all generation." It is always good to bear this in mind says the psalm.  Men make plans, God makes plans, but in the end it is not men's plans that are established but God's plans.

Many times we think of the Christmas story as one romantic story, what with our lovely and cute belens.  Actually the original Christmas story is an example of a story of how God messed up so many plans in so many lives all at once.  He messed up the plans of Zechariah, he messed up the plans of Elizabeth, he messed up the plans of Joseph and Mary.  It would have been a beautiful retirement for Zechariah and Elizabeth, it would have been an ordinary but wonderful marriage and family life between Joseph and Mary.  But then God messed them all up.  And then what happened?  What happened?  Wonderful things, wonderful things.  It was a good thing God messed them all up.  Without these there would have been no John the Baptist, and there would not have been a Christ.    

Our gospel today is part of the great messing up which God has done in Mary's life where an unplanned pregnancy consequently resulted to an unplanned visit done hurriedly to her cousin Elizabeth's home.

But so many great things in the church and even in our personal lives happened because God messed up our plans, because God disarranged our lives, because God reordered our priorities.

Ever since it has always been a wrestling match between me and God.  I wanted to enter the seminary but God did not make me pass, and made me want it so badly, i fought my way in.  I wanted to be a monk to live a quiet life alone with him, but God made me a priest and put me in a crowd.  In my first years as priest I wanted to serve God in the farms and mountains and in far distances instead he gave me arthritis and sent me to work writing for a parish weekly paper.  I longed for a parish, I asked for a parish, I demanded for a parish but God sent me back to the seminary and made me a rector.  God has been messing up my life.  Did anything good come out because of that?  I don't know.  Am I happy?  Yes.

In the third stanza our psalm advices us to wait on the Lord, wait.  To wait means to look to Jesus and seek his counsel in prayer.  To wait also means to do nothing so as to allow things to settle and mature; to allow anger and impatience to dissipate; to allow things to fall to their proper places; and to allow the Lord to act.

When God messes up your life, expect something, good things, wonderful things.  Do not be afraid.