Surprises

In his recent address to the Roman Curia, one of the 15 weaknesses decried by Pope Francis, was "over planning", endless meetings to attend to the slightest details, leaving no room for spontaneity and surprises.  Pope Francis knows that God cannot be held to a schedule (God's time is not our time), and often works in surprises.  All of Advent we have been reflecting on the events leading up to the birth of Jesus and seeing surprise after surprise.  A young country girl and a virgin becomes pregnant with God's Son by the Holy Spirit.  Surely this was not planned by earthly minds.  Her cousin, Elizabeth, beyond childbearing years, is also pregnant and gives birth to a son, whose name, surprisingly enough, is not Zechariah, after his father, as was the custom, but John.  The Son of God, the Prince of Peace,  is not born in a palace, but in a stable.  Read the infancy narratives and see more surprises. The Cardinals were surprised by the stern and pointed critiques of the Pope. Even his election was a surprise.  Look at your own life and see how many major events came by way of surprise.  Little could our parents predict our futures when we were born, and probably asked, as did the neighbors and relatives of Elizabeth and Zechariah, "What, then will this child be?"  (Lk 1:66). What lies ahead for us in 2015?  We are assured that as with John, the hand of the Lord is upon us."  (cf. Lk 1: 66).
Bro. Rene