Looking for something

Mt 17:9a, 10-13

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121623.cfm

Have you ever looked for something that was right in front of you? I have had numerous times when I have been on the phone and started looking for my phone. It is easy for us to lose sight of what is right in front of us.

Between the ages of 10-24, I spent a lot of my time searching for a sign that would lead me to what I would do with my life. I discerned the possibility that God would call me to the priesthood, but I hoped for a married life. I did not embrace the place where I currently was, which was mostly single. The interesting part was that being single was the vocation I had during that part of my life and I was not willing to embrace that call. We can find God where we at. We do not need to wait for what is to be revealed. The future will take care of the future. Once I accepted my present vocation, I then met my future wife.

In today’s gospel, we learn that the scribes were waiting for Elijah to come again before they anticipated the arrival of the Messiah. The scribes were the ones who knew scripture the best (the printing press would come much later). The scribes were the ones who wrote out scripture by hand for others to read and use. They took a literal understanding of scripture. They were surely looking for the Messiah, but they limited their view because they were looking for something specific, something that matched their assumptions.

How often do we do the same? We anticipate how God is going to answer our prayers or expect a certain way that things will play out. But, if we free ourselves from those expectations and anticipations, we can easily find that God has a message for us in this moment. What are you missing out on right now because you are anticipating or expecting something else?