When they gathered together they asked him, “Lord are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He answered them, “It is not for you to know the time or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.”
Acts 1: 6-7
The disciples are going to need the Holy Spirit. They’re already off on the wrong track. Jesus had mentioned the reign of God, and that sets them wondering about re-establishing the monarchy.
Jesus doesn’t go down the track. Quick fixes with military might weren’t what he was about. God’s plans are wider than the horizons of our minds.
Early Christians thought the world would end soon and as a result didn’t worry much about the shaping of this world. As time went on, their perspective shifted, and Christians began to get more involved in social issues. (In 1971, the World Synod of bishops affirmed that this is an essential part of the Church’s mission.)
Sometimes we get impatient and wonder why in 2,000 years things aren’t better.
It’s good to remember that God’s plan reaches across the whole cosmos – which we haven’t even been able to measure – and across ages and ages still unknown to us.
In that perspective, even a small act of love can change the balance of peace and justice in the world. We’re not the architects of God’s plan, but jewelers trying to work on one tiny gem – a life lived well.
A little time for prayer each day can help my perspective.
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