All Shall Be Well (Homily 57)

"My heart is glad and my spirit rejoices. My flesh also shall rest in hope, for You will not leave my soul in hell.... You will show me the path of life...." Ps. 16:9-11

The dark is bitter so that the light may be sweeter. For the child of God, all things are redeemed: all failures and faults, all things meant for evil, all festering wounds and burning humiliations. God is turning them into goodness. He will not leave you in hell, though hell you have to go through. Just now the way is bumpy and uncertain, and doubt and despair swarm on you like flies, and fear and anger bubble inside; but though the way is dark, it is moving to a place of light, where all light is lightning because of the dark. This is the inheritance of those who love God because He loved them: we endure the horror and great darkness, for it is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is coming.

You must rest in hope, for all is redemption. All of life is redeemed and is being redeemed, though the process is mysterious and hidden. For now the soil lies silent, but it will blossom, and the barrenness of the past will accentuate the harvest of the future. The stumbles of the past will accentuate the strong steps of the future. This is the meaning of redemption: all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well, not by erasure but by reversal. Not by annulment but by eucatastrophe. The shame shall not be forgotten but instead shall serve to brighten the glory. The faults and failures will not be lost but rather woven into the tapestry, adding pattern to pattern and color to color, emblazoning the whole.

And we shall see it. We shall see the redemption of all things. Of our things. We shall see the rescue and restoration. We shall see our ashes turned to beauty. We rest in this hope, for there is rest in this hope. Let all our troubles be calmed, for though we cannot see it now, they are all wrought with redemption.

-Jon Vowell (c) 2013