God’s timing is so incredibly perfect.  His touch on each of our lives each and every day is so constant and profound that we typically do not even notice it.  Of all the people on earth, I find it beyond comprehension that my God who created everything could be constantly involved in my simple, personal life.  I fail miserably in trying to understand how this could be, and yet it is true !

Today’s first Reading from Ecclesiastes comforts me, for I am clearly not alone in the wonder of God’s role in my individual life.  Here Solomon points out that literally every single aspect of our lives follows an appointed time, a plan orchestrated by our God.  A plan in which there is a specific time for everything that makes up our life.  As Solomon began to see the bigger picture, it troubled him as he tried to make sense of life.  This is not only surprising, but perhaps shocking.  It was obvious that Solomon had a relationship with God his entire life, so how could he become so disillusioned.

This is where it hits close to home for us all today.  We easily become disillusioned with our lives.  Society around us seems to be spiraling out of control and there always seems to be so much that simply makes no sense.  Of course this all points us to the futility of thinking we are in control, but like King Solomon, we easily forget who is really involved in and is in complete control of every moment of our lives.

In chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon shares his wise conclusion – the fact that God has indeed laid out the exact time frame and series of events for our lives.  We do not live a life of random occurrences, but rather our lives follow a specific plan – an appointed time - orchestrated by our amazing God.  Not only are birth and death planned in advance, but likewise literally everything else we experience throughout our lives is appointed by God. 

So what are we to make of all this?  Solomon struggled with the question of “what is our life supposed to be all about?”  He came to the only conclusion that makes any sense at all.  It is God who is in complete control. We can never fathom how this all works simply because our God is beyond anything that we could ever grasp.  Solomon concludes in verse eleven “He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

Our Responsorial Psalm takes us to the logical and comforting conclusion to these facts.  The Lord is truly our rock.  He is our fortress, our stronghold, our deliverer and our shield.  Even though we are only one of billions of individuals He has created, we can indeed place our total trust in God.  He is fully capable of knowing each of us individually and is involved in the details of each of our lives.  A fact that is truly beyond comprehension and yet so very comforting !  This fact encourages us to boldly use this time in each of our lives to live for our Lord and Savior while we work to point others to Jesus.
Both today’s Alleluia in Mark and the Gospel in Luke point to the absolute fact that Jesus is our eternal Lord and Savior.  A fact that we pray everyone will truly embraces.   

Dear Heavenly Father,  help us to find eternal peace with the fact that we will never be able to fully grasp the magnitude of who You are.  Help us to remain forever grateful that You are fully engaged in every moment of our lives.  Help us to keep our eyes constantly upon You so that Your love may effectively flow through us, enabling our lives to point to You and You alone. In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen