REFLECTION:

Timing.

I had to laugh when I saw our first reading today: “There is an appointed time for everything.” What perfect timing as we come to the end of another work week! Especially after yesterday. Grandparents Day, interviews, meetings, more meetings, and then ending the day watching our girls volleyball game. By the end of the day, I thought Ecclesiastes forgot one: “There is a time to go home…and go to sleep.”

But I think one of our struggles today is that instead of using time, sometimes we become slaves to time. Everything has to happen now.

We send a text and watch for those three little dots. We send an email and wonder why nobody has responded two hours later. We order something online and somehow two-day shipping now feels slow. And sometimes we pray and say, “Okay, God, I brought this to you yesterday. What are we doing?”

Yesterday, one of my meetings reminded me of this. A parent had brought a concern to our school, and naturally, when something involves your child, you worry. You want answers. You want to know that everything is okay. I understand that. But our team also needed time—to listen, to gather information, to speak with the teachers and others involved, and to understand the situation fairly. Before even 24 hours had passed, the concern had already moved to another level.

And it reminded me that sometimes our worry and anxiety can make it difficult for us to give people—and even God—the time to work.

Ecclesiastes says there is “a time to be silent, and a time to speak.” There is a time to act, absolutely. But there is also a time to wait, to listen, to gather the facts, to pray, and sometimes simply to let things unfold.

Even Peter in today's Gospel gets something right: “You are the Christ of God.” He knows who Jesus is. But he doesn't yet understand God's timing. Because Jesus then tells them there will be suffering, rejection, and the Cross before there is Resurrection.

And isn't that our struggle too?

We want to skip ahead. We want the answer without the waiting. We want Easter without Good Friday. We want God to work according to our calendar—and preferably before our next meeting. But maybe as we finish this busy week, the Word of God is reminding us: you don't have to rush everything. Give people time. Give your children time. Give your teachers and coworkers time. Give yourself time. And most importantly, give God time. Because there is an appointed time for everything.

We may be slaves to the clock. But God is not.