Not Yet

“He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.” This sentence stood out in today’s gospel as rather odd. Why didn’t Jesus want people to know that He was “The Christ of God” yet? Operative word “yet.” Sometimes there is a “not yet” in the timing of God and those “not yet(s)” are very important in our spiritual maturity. They indicate a rhythm, patience, waiting on the Lord, embracing the mystery, trust, and the ever-important buzzword of our current time…boundaries. Jesus knew that the timing of the revelation of His Messiah-ship was supreme in coinciding with Scripture, in properly preparing the soil of the hearts of His disciples, also teaching His Apostles how to wait, and in faithfulness to His Father’s perfect plan. Patience, waiting, holding tension, keeping secrets, and that darn buzzword boundaries are all things that our culture does not necessarily embrace wholeheartedly. We want it all and we want it now so we can blab about it on social media. Jesus wants us to hold some things close until the proper time. The “not yet(s)” represent self-control, faith, and total trust that God knows what He’s doing. Raise your hand if you need more of any one of these. 

It was vital that Jesus be truly known to His closest companions at this time in the gospel because the next phase of the plan was, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” We can endure suffering if we are truly known by those closest to us. They strengthen us when the world seems to come against us. The Apostles needed this revelation to start tenderizing their hearts for what was to come. Even though they were MIA and afraid during His passion, death, and resurrection, their softening hearts made room for the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the rest, as they say, is HIStory. 

Sometimes Jesus reveals things to us that we get to hold onto for a time. The closer we draw to Him, the better we can answer His question, “Who do you say that I am?” This intimacy allows us to hear the “when to(s)” and the “not yet(s)” that will grow us in the virtues of patience, faith, trust, and spiritual maturity. Jesus is so so so for us and He wants us in sync with Our Father’s perfect rhythm and timing for every little and big thing. We need to answer His question as often as we can, “Who do you say that I am?” and we need to embrace the mystery of His timing. The opening line in today’s gospel gives us the key to be able to do any or all of the above, “Jesus was praying in solitude.” The still small voice of God comes to us when we pray in solitude. Spend some nose-to-nose time with God today so you can sync your heartbeat with His. It is well with my soul. 

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Lectionary: 453

Reading 1 HG 2:1-9

In the second year of King Darius,
on the twenty-first day of the seventh month,
the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai:
Tell this to the governor of Judah,
Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak,
and to the remnant of the people:

Who is left among you
that saw this house in its former glory?
And how do you see it now?
Does it not seem like nothing in your eyes?
But now take courage, Zerubbabel, says the LORD,
and take courage, Joshua, high priest, son of Jehozadak,
And take courage, all you people of the land,
says the LORD, and work!
For I am with you, says the LORD of hosts.
This is the pact that I made with you
when you came out of Egypt,
And my spirit continues in your midst;
do not fear!
For thus says the LORD of hosts:
One moment yet, a little while,
and I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
I will shake all the nations,
and the treasures of all the nations will come in,
And I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of hosts.
Mine is the silver and mine the gold,
says the LORD of hosts.
Greater will be the future glory of this house
than the former, says the LORD of hosts;
And in this place I will give you peace,
says the LORD of hosts!

Responsorial PsalmPS 43:1, 2, 3, 4

R.(5) Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Do me justice, O God, and fight my fight
against a faithless people;
from the deceitful and impious man rescue me. 
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
For you, O God, are my strength.
Why do you keep me so far away?
Why must I go about in mourning,
with the enemy oppressing me?
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Hope in God; I will praise him, my savior and my God.

Alleluia MK 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel LK 9:18-22

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."