God Shapes Through the Good and the Bad

Homily for the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Paul’s message today is simple and bold: God is shaping your life with purpose, intention, and love. “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” In these few words, St. Paul is revealing the deep structure of Christian hope. This passage tells us three things about God’s work in your life:

First, God’s Purpose is intentional. We are not drifting. We are not an accident. We are not defined by our failures or our fears. Second, God’s purpose is rooted in the desire to shape each of us into the image of His Son, to transform our lives. God desires that we become more capable of love, mercy, courage, and truth, to truly become more Christlike. Finally, God works through all things—not just the good ones. He declares that everything can be used for good. This means that our disappointments, our unanswered prayers, our detours, our wounds, our joys, and our successes are woven together by God, like threads in a tapestry we cannot yet see. This requires that we place our trust in God who refuses to waste anything in our lives.

Paul uses strong verbs: God foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified. These words describe a God who moves toward us, who initiates a relationship with us, and refuses to let us go. Our lives are not defined by what we have done for God, but by what God has done—and is doing—for us.

The other readings are all connected to the reading from Romans. In the First Book of Kings, we hear Solomon’s prayer for wisdom. Solomon asks not for wealth or power but for a discerning heart. This aligns perfectly with Paul’s message: God’s purpose is to make us wise, holy, and capable of love.

Psalm 119 reveals that God’s love is a treasure which illuminates the path God is shaping. This prompts the psalmist to delight in God’s commands. Romans tells us God works through all things; the Psalm tells us God guides us through His word.

The parables of the Gospel further define that treasure. They tell us that God’s Kingdom is worth everything. Paul says God is shaping us for that Kingdom. Together, these parables remind us that the Christian life is not about settling—it is about seeking.

Throughout our lives, we are sometimes asked to carry heavy burdens: we search for clarity, and we come to know grief. However, our lives also bring us to joyful moments of celebration. Paul’s message is for all of us: God is already at work in what are living through. We may not see the pattern yet, but God is weaving, shaping, guiding and calling us. God is loving us through the bad times as well as the good. And God is not yet finished.

With Solomon, let us pray for the wisdom to trust God’s plan even when we cannot see it. Let us trust that God is shaping our hearts to resemble the heart of Jesus, that every part of our lives—our joys and our struggles—are meant to draw us closer to God. May God make us wise like Solomon, faithful like the psalmist, and willing to give everything for God’s Kingdom.