4 April, Thursday — Don’t be surprised

Easter Thursday

Acts 3:11-26
Lk 24:35-48

Why are you so surprised at this? Why are you staring at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or holiness?

This Holy Week was a busy week in the office. I had back-to-back meetings and I had a fair bit of strategic planning to do on top of some execution work. I had told God that I wanted to attend as many masses as I could this week, but the work demands were overwhelming. Last Monday, I decided to just wake up early and attend Mass. In the afternoon, I was surprised that one of my meetings was cancelled. After some thought, I realised that I really should not have been surprised because I’ve had many experiences where God has rescheduled my work so I could have time with him. How could I have forgotten?

In today’s first reading, the Jews seem to have forgotten that just some time back, Jesus had been performing miracles and even raised Lazarus from the dead. Or maybe they forgot that Peter and John were followers of Jesus. Or maybe they forgot that Jesus had already made a man walk. And I think in many instances, I am like them. Maybe all of us are like them. We forget how wonderful God is. We forget how powerful God is. We forget how loving God is. We forget how merciful God is.

God is unchanging. God keeps his promises. God never turns his back on us. Let’s not ourselves get surprised like we were not expecting God to make good his promises. Let’s allow ourselves instead, to be surprised, seeing how God exceeds whatever it is that we had imagined.

Let us remember that Jesus did not spare himself a single drop of blood just to show his love for us. God the Father gave us Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us a lot of gifts. So, while we still get surprised, there is really nothing to be surprised about.

I pray that this Easter season, we can praise God as how the Psalmist praises him today. God is so great, and even though is he so great, he still thinks of us. God is the one, true God. And he made us just a little less than him. He even entrusted us with so many things. So, let’s not be surprised when things turn much better than we anticipated. I know that God will still surely surprise us because he is God!

 (Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)

Prayer: Let me praise you with my whole being, Lord.

Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for all your surprises.