God of Surprises

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QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How has God surprised you in your life? How have you responded to these surprises? Have you ever responded like Zechariah? How can you be more open to what God wants to do in and through you? This is a guidebook for the journey of life which began at conception and will end at death. It is written especially for bewildered, confused or disillusioned Christians, who have a love-hate relationship with the Church. God is a ‘God of Surprises’ because He is not remote or distant, dwelling only in tabernacles and temples of stone, but near to us. Smiling and waiting to embrace us despite our confusion, bewilderment, anger etc. This book aims to suggest some ways of detecting the hidden treasure in what may be considered a most unlikely field, oneself. On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”

They themselves "did not understand that the law which they protected and loved," was a pedagogy towards Christ. Through Jesus, you are now called to be the home, the dwelling place of God. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). 4. Surprising wisdomThis is a dangerous book. It will change you, if you let it, for it is all about the challenge of becoming another Christ. Buy it if you dare! So it is with life and work. The only certainty is change, and change always comes as a surprise. We may be able to predict that change is coming, but we can't predict the details of its unfolding. The good surprises that God sends are often commonplace and ordinary. Unfortunately, we don't allow them to surprise us. Instead, we live in dread of the bad surprises. We want to anticipate them somehow, to be one step ahead, to be in control.

Our God,” the Pope continued, “is a God who always does new things. And he asks from us docility to this newness”. In the Gospel passage, Pope Francis said, “Jesus is clear about this, he is very clear: new wine in fresh wine skins”. Thus, “God must be received with openness to what is new”. And this disposition “is called docility”. Jesus amazed everybody when he went into the temple courts and found people selling cattle, sheep and doves and others at tables exchanging money: ‘The loan sharks were also there in full strength’ (v.14, MSG). The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. 2 It included: It rejected the notion of a vengeful God and made an impassioned appeal for peace. This recurring theme in Hughes’s writing led to his taking the platform at antiwar demonstrations and developing a close connection with CND and Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace movement. There was another Scottish Jesuit with the same name, Gerard Hughes, writing at the same time, often taking a radically different stance on such issues of war and peace. They became known to colleagues as “Peace Hughes” and “Bomber Hughes”. Officially the Jesuits distinguished between the two by using a middle initial. In these chapters that we have read in the last few weeks from the Acts of the Apostles” (11:1-18), the Pontiff began, “we can see the Christian community is moving; and what moves the community is the Holy Spirit”. It is important to remember, Francis said, “that Jesus himself had promised this to the disciples at the Last Supper: ‘I will not leave you all alone. I will send you the spirit of truth; he will guide you to the full truth; he will teach you and remind you’”. Thus, “it is the Holy Spirit himself who moves this Church: we have heard of many miracles, many curious things”, the Pontiff said. “Some were surely afraid of these novelties in the Church”.

The descendants of Gershon were allotted thirteen towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. Help me, Lord, to be open to your surprises. May I see the small ones so I might accept them with thanksgiving. May I be open to the big ones, even if they threaten to unsettle my life. The Second Chapter shows us how we can get in touch with our inner selves. The author presents von Hügel’s analysis of the three main stages of human development-infancy, adolescence and adulthood-describing the predominant needs and activities which characterize each stage. The growth of faith and its connection with these stages is also presented. The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid. 11 Going west it ran to Maralah, touched Dabbesheth, and extended to the ravine near Jokneam. 12 It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise to the territory of Kisloth Tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia. 13 Then it continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmon and turned toward Neah. 14 There the boundary went around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El. 15 Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages. The total number of towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to thirteen, together with their pasturelands. Commentary Surprised by humaneness