SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(1 Kings
3:5-13; Romans 8:28-30; Matthew 13:44-46)
Three scenarios of misfortune. First, your husband has been
in an accident. He is injured, and the only car in the house is totaled. You
feel deeply distressed. Second, your wife has Alzheimer's. You have placed her
in a nursing home. The facility is high-quality, but she doesn't like it there.
Every time you visit, she cries, begging you to take her home. The situation is
so sad that you no longer want to visit her. Third, your oldest son has become
rebellious. He has stopped attending Sunday Mass with the family for a long
time and recently dropped out of school. But what has disturbed you most is
that yesterday you found a gun in his bedroom.
These situations are not so rare that they could not happen
to any of us. They would cause us to examine our lives to see if we've done
anything to deserve such a dismal state of affairs. Also, we begin to doubt
God's existence, or at least His goodness. We truly don't know what to think,
much less what to do.
Then we recall the story of Saint Augustine's conversion.
One day, as he was walking in his garden reflecting on his disordered life, he
heard a child's voice. The child said, "Take this and read."
Augustine found his Bible, opened it, and came across the passage in the Letter
to the Romans, which says, “… let us conduct ourselves properly as in the
day, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in promiscuity and licentiousness,
not in rivalry and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no
provision for the desires of the flesh” (Rom 13:13-14). The experience
confirmed his decision to become a Christian.
In our predicaments, it would be helpful to recall another
verse from the same Letter to the Romans. It is found in the second reading at
Mass today. It says: “… all things work for good for those who love God, who
are called according to his purpose” (8:28). The words dissipate our anxiety.
We know that we can handle the difficult situation because God is with us. His
presence gives us confidence that nothing can overcome us as long as he
supports us. Everything will be “all right.” We now know what Jesus means in
the Gospel when he speaks of the “Kingdom of God.” He says that it is worth
more than the finest pearl because it assures us of God’s love forever. By
maintaining a friendship with God, we can face any difficulty with peace. For
who can snatch us out of His hands?
There are several Bible verses that not only capture our
attention but also our memory. One is John 3:16: “For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life.” Another is Jesus’ commandments of love: “’ Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind and with all your strength. The second (commandment) is this: Love your
neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29-31). Romans 8:28 is another verse we should
never forget: “…all things work together for the good of those who love God…”
