The Appointed Time
Reflections on timing, calling, and surrender based on today’s readings: https://bible.usccb.org/daily-bible-reading
All three readings converge upon one small, subtle line in the reading from Romans: “at the appointed time.”
St. Paul, in this context, teaches that Christ came to save sinners at the appointed time. There was a specific moment in history that the Lord, in His providence, deemed to be the fitting time for the salvation of His people.
The many years that preceded this event served as a preparation for it, while the years that followed became years of responding to it.
Similarly, we see that Moses receives the revelation of God and his own mission at the appointed time. Those familiar with the story of Moses know that his life up to this point was marked by both tragedy and providence. He is cast into the river as an infant, brought into Pharaoh's household, driven into exile because of his crime, and then spends many years in silent, hidden, and obedient service to both God and others.
But at the appointed time, Moses encounters the Lord and receives his mission to free His people. At another appointed time, he receives the Law and is commissioned to share it with the people. Along the way, there are many other appointed times in which he is called to perform miracles, such as bringing forth water from a rock, or to establish systems by which the people can interpret and apply the Law.
The same is true for the disciples. They come from various backgrounds, each having been prepared in different ways, but at the appointed time they are called forth to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world.
The key distinction between these examples and the struggles we often experience is that the phrase “the appointed time” implies that those who are faithful to the Lord live according to His timing rather than their own. They receive every moment as either a preparation for their calling or a unique expression of it, and they surrender themselves to the Lord in all things.
Thus, when the appointed time arrives, they are ready to answer the call. We, too, must live according to the Lord's timing, never insisting upon our own plans or schedules, but instead remaining in constant surrender to His will, His ways, and His timing.