DAY 208

“I TOLD YOU SO”

Psalm 40, 41 & 42 and Acts 27:1-26

I never find “I told you so” a very helpful phrase. Today we find Paul on a ship trying to make his way towards Rome. He tells those in charge not to set sail from a certain point because of impending weather, that he Paul has been warned of, but no one else. They do not listen to Paul and rather set out, and of course, they end up in a storm. At the end of today’s readings we find him standing up again and saying, “I told you this was going to happen. However, don’t worry we won’t die, we will lose the ship, but we won’t die!” I am surprised someone has not thrown him overboard.

This is one of those stories of the Bible that makes me smile. If you wanted to hold St. Paul up as the model follower of Jesus, and the perfect disciple, you would leave out some of the particulars. The Bible is full of these “less than complimentary” accounts of Jesus’ followers…which is one of the reasons I love it, and one of the reasons I think the stories are true. These stories have not been polished, they contain all the rough edges of truth, and through the roughness of the humanity the truth of God is heard…God will ensure Paul gets to Rome for God and His plans will not be thwarted.

These experiences of God flow through history even into today. In the Psalms we read: “Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!” (cf. 40:5a) and “Put your trust in the God” (cf. 42:6).

So in some ways “I told you so” might apply to me, considering all we have read in the Bible. All those times of doubt I have, or allow worry to build, or give in to anxiety…all those times and more…I imagine after they pass the Lord could say to me “I told you trust me, I told you so…” Fortunately He does not say that to me…and yet the point for me today is to realize that while he does not, I must still learn the truth…Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, from age to age. Amen. Amen. 41:13