“We” can try all we want - History is very clear - God wins - And God invites us to “win” too along side him…..Expect that “flower” to grow once again through the “cracks of the sidewalk”

Today at Holy Mass we hear the story of how Moses was born in the Book of Exodus…..Like a flower growing in the cracks of a sidewalk, Moses was born when the first born male child was to be slaughtered under Egyptian law and “somehow” Moses escaped being killed……”Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the river bank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying!”……God had plans for this child, he was to grow strong and led his people out of slavery……How did Moses survive?…..Because man can not thwart the plans of God - And mankind does not learn this great lesson and keeps trying and trying!……Humanity continues its attempt to “get around God” only to fail time and time again…..History shows us that a “flower” always grows between the “cracks of the sidewalk” and from those “cracks” God works out his plan for salvation……The Prophet Isaiah tells us……”Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you”….God’s guiding hand is still with mankind…While we do not understand always how God works - Know with certainty that He is working!…..When we all least expect it…..”That Flower” grows once again right under the eyes of an unexpecting world.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

God is forever patient....Because we have “free will” mankind many times makes the wrong choices and we all get into trouble…..Because God will never force himself upon us and violate our free will, we have to “deal” with the poor choices of mankind…However, God works through our mistakes and in time “steps in” to correct what “we” all messed up….History shows us this narrative, which is repeated time and time again century after century…….Let’s look at a real time example….For decades in the 20th centruy Poland was under the control of communism….Many historians say Poland lost World War II twice…First to Germany and then to Russia….After the war, Poland was occupied by the former Soviet Union….Their human rights were suppressed and the people suffered both economically and socially for years….As this was going on a young man named Karol Wojtyla was born to humble parents…Young Karol was brilliant, athletic and his future looked bright…In the mean time, World War II took its toll on the Polish people and after being orphaned at the age of twenty-two, Karol entered the seminary to become a priest….And shortly there after providentially he rose to become the Pope….In June of 1979, he returned to Poland as Pope, which was still under Russia’s thumb…..His trip lasted nine days and those nine days shook the foundations of Poland…So much so that the Solidarity Movement was formed….And as a result, a humble electrician (Lech Walesa) rose up to lead the country to freedom…Not one bullet was fired and the former Sovet Union was expelled from Poland……Almost like the story of Moses, which we heard today in the first reading from Mass…God rose up a saint to address the real time problems that everyday people faced…When nothing could be done to “fix” what mankind messed up…God stepped in….I could give example after example of how this pattern repeats itself throughout the centuries….Man CAN NOT out maneuver God…..So here is the question(s) for us to ponder today - Are you trying to out maneuver God?……Do we “somehow” think the Truth, which is contained in the one Church Jesus founded “somehow” does not apply to you?….Do you think that by ignoring what time has proven to be true will not have consequences in your life if you turn from it?…….Reality is Reality!….We can not change what can not be changed…..The laws of God apply to us whether we acknowledge them or not….As the old saying goes - “If you can’t beat them - Join them”…..God is patient with us…He allows us to “figure it out”…And he will NEVER force our hand…..But in the end, if we ignore him - We suffer in the here and now - And ultimately God’s plan moves forward without us……..Don’t allow yourself to be left behind!

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts”

Today we hear once again at Mass a small portion of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity….God raised up a slave, Moses to free the people of Israel….Similarly, God raised up Karol Wojtyla, a young man who had dreams of becoming an actor to become the Pope and free his countryman from the bondage of communism…..Let’s fast forward to today….Mankind’s problems have not gone away…Children are slaughtered in the womb….Economic injustice is imposed upon millions around the world….….Governments around the world use power for self serving gains…..Do we somehow “think” that God does not see all of this?….Do we somehow “think” that “what has been done in darkness will one day not be brought to the light?”….God will “work around” us, despite man’s every effort to thwart what cannot be overcome - “We” can try all we want - History is very clear - God wins - And God invites us to “win” too along side him……Expect that “flower” to grow once again through the “cracks of the sidewalk”