See that you have your belts done up and your lamps lit. (Lk. 12:35)
Be like people waiting for their Master to Return... (Lk. 12:36)
Blessed those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. (Lk. 12:37)
You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Lk. 12:40)
Today everyone thinks there is a NEED FOR SPEED, everything should be instant. Speed Post, Courier, Quick Service, Xoom instant Money Transfer, Fast Food, Non Stop Bus Services, Point to Point Express, Bullet Train, these are few among many things that we love the most. All these and more coming into existence because people have no time... No time for What? No time to wait. we are all in the track of Fast and Furious. Fast because we in a hurry, Furious when things get slow and when it comes to a stand still, we are just out of our mind. We don't like traffic signals, and speed breaks, all we like is to travel on the super high ways always. As we are in a hurry in the morning we just enter into a shower room and xoom... instant shower instead of a single shower 5 or 6 shower opens at a time. (Wasting water? Oh never mind, things to be done nothing to worry as long as my desire is fulfilled). Electric tooth brush to clean the teeth. (Lazy to brush the teeth even? Oh no it's not lazy, it's technology.) Everything is done instantly and when it comes to the matter of food, ah it's fast food. (All those stuffed, canned ready made food with lots of preservatives and chemicals? Fast food, slow Digestion). And to go School, College, Office, to go fast and reach soon, we all buy the car, a family needs 3, 4 cars or 5, 6 cars. Oh I hate this traffic. What else to do when everyone want to go fast and have a car??? Fuel consumption, pollution? who bothers. Those who go by walk or cycle reach the place sooner than those who have a fast race car. We know but still we own. We have no time to walk even to the next few house??? We know the results, but still we do it.
The lotteries and reality shows feed the hunger of instant rich mentality of the people. This even paves ways for the crimes like, cheating, stealing, killing and all other kinds of dishonest ways. And thus people become selfish, self centered, dominant, no value for humanness, kindness, caring and sharing. In short no time for LOVE, to LOVE. And this becomes another reason to bribe. We pay to get things done fast, making a false nothing that we can buy anything or do anything with money. And where to get money? hmm... instant money making with any kinds of means. Money and material gains becomes the center of life. As a result we are all Fast and Furious to make Money.
Our God is the God who waits patiently like the prodigal father. with hope he waits. (Luke 15:11-32) Many think that God delays, but he is patience. The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, though some speak of delay; rather he gives you time because he does not want anyone to perish, but that all may come to conversion. (2Peter 3:9) He waits in patience for everyone to come back, to be saved. God can do all things: anything, anytime, anywhere; but he took time in history to accomplish our salvation. Starting from creation, through the freedom of the people of Israel, and to fulfill the promise of the Savior, in everything God took time.
Waiting in patience with faith and hope is not a waste of time as many of us think. In my experience it's a time of preparation, training, learning, strengthening, recharging, rejuvenating, refreshing, reviving, regenerating. God could have created the whole world in one day or in a single word. Why should God prepare Moses and send to Egypt to perform ten miracles? Or he could have brought the people of Israel from Egypt to the land of Canaan just in three days walk instead of taking a long 40 years round the desert? Jesus could have brought salvation just instantly - why should he wait for 30 years to grow and 3 years to preach, suffer and die??? It really took a lot of time right? Why? If we have to reflect on that, we will surely understand why everything happens in our life, not instantly, but little by little in it's proper time according to the will of God.
This Fast and Furious attitude has reduced, silenced or erased our dependency on God and his plan. We think our reason can achieve anything; we believe that science can give answer for everything; we imagine that humanity can overpower divinity. But we are falling, we are falling like the Tower of Babel, we are falling back into the original sin: Self Reliance, Independent and egoistic - self centered. We fail to learn and realize that we can do nothing without Him. (John 15:5)
Be like people waiting for their Master to Return... (Lk. 12:36)
Blessed those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. (Lk. 12:37)
You too must stand ready, because the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Lk. 12:40)
I could not or rather say did not make an effort to write articles in the year 2015 and I don't want that to happen to this year, so I thought of sharing some of my reflection which I had during the Canonical Retreat in the Year 2015, October 20. It was a different experience in that Retreat the Retreat Preacher gave different Bible passages for us to read and reflect alone and will share with him, so apart from the reflection what I shared with him I would like to share this with you all.
Today everyone thinks there is a NEED FOR SPEED, everything should be instant. Speed Post, Courier, Quick Service, Xoom instant Money Transfer, Fast Food, Non Stop Bus Services, Point to Point Express, Bullet Train, these are few among many things that we love the most. All these and more coming into existence because people have no time... No time for What? No time to wait. we are all in the track of Fast and Furious. Fast because we in a hurry, Furious when things get slow and when it comes to a stand still, we are just out of our mind. We don't like traffic signals, and speed breaks, all we like is to travel on the super high ways always. As we are in a hurry in the morning we just enter into a shower room and xoom... instant shower instead of a single shower 5 or 6 shower opens at a time. (Wasting water? Oh never mind, things to be done nothing to worry as long as my desire is fulfilled). Electric tooth brush to clean the teeth. (Lazy to brush the teeth even? Oh no it's not lazy, it's technology.) Everything is done instantly and when it comes to the matter of food, ah it's fast food. (All those stuffed, canned ready made food with lots of preservatives and chemicals? Fast food, slow Digestion). And to go School, College, Office, to go fast and reach soon, we all buy the car, a family needs 3, 4 cars or 5, 6 cars. Oh I hate this traffic. What else to do when everyone want to go fast and have a car??? Fuel consumption, pollution? who bothers. Those who go by walk or cycle reach the place sooner than those who have a fast race car. We know but still we own. We have no time to walk even to the next few house??? We know the results, but still we do it.
The lotteries and reality shows feed the hunger of instant rich mentality of the people. This even paves ways for the crimes like, cheating, stealing, killing and all other kinds of dishonest ways. And thus people become selfish, self centered, dominant, no value for humanness, kindness, caring and sharing. In short no time for LOVE, to LOVE. And this becomes another reason to bribe. We pay to get things done fast, making a false nothing that we can buy anything or do anything with money. And where to get money? hmm... instant money making with any kinds of means. Money and material gains becomes the center of life. As a result we are all Fast and Furious to make Money.
This fast and furious mentality has so much sunk deeply into us that with the same mentality we approach God also. Prayer becomes the pressure. We pressurize God to do certain things for us. We sometimes even command God to do it, and do it fast. We even ready to pay for it if he does it fast in the name of pledge right? like lighting a candle or putting some cash in the love offering, etc. If nothing happens we are frustrated with God and avoid him altogether. If we don't get a quick answer from God, as we like in our own time, we lose our faith and patience and don't go to church or pray or as already told we just forget him in our life. We don't think how much restlessness, stress and fear it brings when we look for instant solution. In real life we don't think that, that which comes fast will go fast. 'Sudden riches will decrease,' 'Wealth gained quickly will dwindle away,' (Proverbs 13:11) Do not wear yourself out trying to be rich, do not dwell on it. (Proverbs 23:4) What you gather little by little with much hard work will stay forever and you will always have contentment and peace of mind. Everything has its own time. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) God's time is the best time. Nothing in the world comes instantly. Instant solution brings increased problems. One goes and another comes, right?
Our God is the God who waits patiently like the prodigal father. with hope he waits. (Luke 15:11-32) Many think that God delays, but he is patience. The Lord does not delay in fulfilling his promise, though some speak of delay; rather he gives you time because he does not want anyone to perish, but that all may come to conversion. (2Peter 3:9) He waits in patience for everyone to come back, to be saved. God can do all things: anything, anytime, anywhere; but he took time in history to accomplish our salvation. Starting from creation, through the freedom of the people of Israel, and to fulfill the promise of the Savior, in everything God took time. 
Waiting in patience with faith and hope is not a waste of time as many of us think. In my experience it's a time of preparation, training, learning, strengthening, recharging, rejuvenating, refreshing, reviving, regenerating. God could have created the whole world in one day or in a single word. Why should God prepare Moses and send to Egypt to perform ten miracles? Or he could have brought the people of Israel from Egypt to the land of Canaan just in three days walk instead of taking a long 40 years round the desert? Jesus could have brought salvation just instantly - why should he wait for 30 years to grow and 3 years to preach, suffer and die??? It really took a lot of time right? Why? If we have to reflect on that, we will surely understand why everything happens in our life, not instantly, but little by little in it's proper time according to the will of God.
The former after sowing the seed waits patiently for it's growth, when the plant grows naturally with naturally manure, it is strong and nutritious and delicious. Instead the hybrid, and genetically modified plants are less nutritious with more side effects and deceases. That which comes fast, goes fast or may be faster. Why we are all in the Fast Track? Fear, Greed, Selfishness, Pride.
This Fast and Furious attitude has reduced, silenced or erased our dependency on God and his plan. We think our reason can achieve anything; we believe that science can give answer for everything; we imagine that humanity can overpower divinity. But we are falling, we are falling like the Tower of Babel, we are falling back into the original sin: Self Reliance, Independent and egoistic - self centered. We fail to learn and realize that we can do nothing without Him. (John 15:5)