God’s plan not thwarted by human sin

CatholicAnchor.org
As a long-time outdoor adventurer and lover of the world’s spectacular beauty, it has often occurred to me that there is a certain harmony and predictability on planet earth.

Biblically, one can confidently say that it all began according to a divine plan as described in the creation account in Genesis. And thus it has been since the beginning. Despite what may seem to us as planetary chaos, the universe is doing what it was created to do, at least until the creation of the first humans. It was only then that true chaos began to set in. The reason for this, of course, is because the first two humans were endowed with a power with which no other creatures on the planet were ever so richly gifted, namely the capability to make choices. It was only at this point that the divine plan seemingly went awry. Or did it?

Nonetheless, one need only observe the bedlam that has so often occurred over the course of earth’s history and continues even more violently today in our world to be convinced that human choice has not always served us well. Think, for instance, of the mass killings during the recent revolt in Turkey, the tragic, senseless deaths and injuries in Orlando, Baton Rouge and Dallas. Obviously such tragedies were not part of the divine plan. Certain individuals chose to create this digression from the normal plan in human life.

One might begin to think therefore that God’s eternal plan of good order had incurred a basic fault at its inception and was doomed for failure.

Not true, my friends, not true. Let me suggest that God already had a backup plan, an alternative in mind from the beginning: it is called forgiveness and redemption. In some sense, therefore, the divine plan of good order is eternally saved; we humans with our gracious power of free choice are always given a second chance. It is this promise of redemption that makes God’s eternal plan workable.

It is this very same plan, for instance, that we see outlined in the scriptures of the liturgy for this Twenty Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time. It is the eternal human story of worshipping the wrong gods. The wandering Israelites chose to worship handmade beings, fashioned of silver and gold, precious metals of the age rather than the eternal God of Abraham their father in faith. Despite these choices, however, God did not abandon them. The eternal plan still held firm.

Saint Paul’s conversion story in the second reading is another example of divine forbearance. From being a Christian persecutor, Saint Paul eventually became a missionary for Christ to the world at large.

Finally in the Gospel we read three lost and found stories: the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son.

In each of these parables we learn that in the mind of the Creator, the least, the last and the lost are of equal eternal importance in the divine plan.

Turning finally to our own times, an age where second chances seem more needful than ever, we hear Pope Francis declaring a Holy Year of Divine Mercy, urging all, Christian and others, to show greater respect and forbearance for one another.

Let it remain clear that God’s patience and forbearance remain ever firm. The choice is in our court.

Sept. 11th Scriptures

Exodus 32: 7-11

Timothy 1: 12-17

Luke 15: 1-10

The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives in Notre Dame, Indiana.