17th Sunday

 

17th Sunday : It works out. Rom 8:28

Life is not a straight line from birth to death.

It is filled with curves and winding roads, and dead ends.

With storms that rock your boat

Mountains that seem too high to climb

And deserts too long to cross.

And some of the time you do not know where you are going

Or when it will end.

Because it is just too dark.

But…..St. Paul tells us that,

Somehow everything works out for the Good for those who love God.

Because those who love God

Know that they are never alone.

They are somehow being led

Somehow being supported

Somehow being loved through it all.

Because it all works out for the Good for those who Love God.

These words of St. Paul are not some pie in the sky spirituality that he wrote for a greeting card or framed on a poster.

5 times he was whipped 40 lashes less one.

Three times he was beaten with rods.

Once he was stoned.

Three times he was shipwrecked and spent an entire day and night adrift on the sea.

He experienced danger from robbers and persecutors.

Often he Would go without food or water

Sleepless nights exposed to the cold.

He was filled with anxiety for all the churches he cared for and gave birth to.

And yet through it all he tells us

That all things work for the Good for those who Love God.

We come to Mass because we love God!

And because we love God,

Whatever we do,

Whatever face;

Whatever we endure,

Will work out for the Good.

But what do those people do who do not love God?

Who love themselves and do their own thing instead.

Very seldom if ever does it work out for them the way they wanted.

Life is bigger than us;

And that is why we need God.

Because no matter what we face in life,

It will all work out,

Not just because we love God,

But because Gods loves us.