“…And be very sure of this, that if he wants anything of you he will fit you for your work and give you strength to do it.” (Saint Phillip Neri).
When I was a university student so many years ago, one of the subjects that I most enjoyed was contract law. Contract law is a very interesting subject for someone like me because it is nice and neat. And the reason that I found the subject so interesting was because I was able to understand it in clear little segments. You see, the law of contracts is laid out in quite a methodical and well-considered manner and the actual arrangement of a contract and the way that a contract can be laid out and relied upon is very logical.
And as a young university student I greatly enjoyed the comfort of understanding how everything could fit together and how I could have some surety and purpose in my life.
The other day, I started thinking about contracts because I read a parable of Our Lord…
“There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.” (Matthew 21:33-43,45-46).
When the tenants killed the servants and the son, they were in breach of contract. They had been provided the vineyard so that they could use it to produce fruit and then – when push came to shove – they decided that they would reject the promise and instead, they would refuse to obey… In other words, they rejected their mission.
And I have been reflecting on this today, because Saint Phillip Neri said, “and be very sure of this, that if he wants anything of you he will fit you for your work and give you strength to do it.”
For the Lord will fit me for my purpose. And because I know this and I believe it with all my heart, I can follow the advice of Saint Phillip Neri and I can “Cast yourself with confidence into the arms of God.”
For I can love my Lord and God with all my heart and all my mind and all my soul, but I cannot worry about how I can fit with all His plans, because my God has fit me for everything that He needs me to do…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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