ROADBLOCKS OR GUARDRAILS?

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The first reading assigned for mass today (Saturday) is from the Acts of the Apostles.

They traveled through the Phrygian and Galatian territory
because they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the message in the province of Asia.
When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them,
so they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas.

If you look at a map, you can see a pattern: Paul and Timothy wanted to head back eastward to certain cities in Asia Minor, but "they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia." Ever wonder what that's all about? How did the Spirit "prevent" them?

Then they finally came to Mysia. I say finally because Mysia is about as far west as you can go in Asia Minor -- it's on the sea. But the two missionaries still seem determined to turn back eastward to continue evangelizing Asia Minor: "When they came to Mysia, they tried to go on into Bithynia,
but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them." Foiled again! So, they decide to head northward, following the coast. "So they crossed through Mysia and came down to Troas." Now Troas, too, as you can see on a map, is also on the sea. It's like being in San Francisco, where the next stop is China.

As they stood at the waterfront in Troas, lamenting the fact that their plans for evangelisation were constantly falling apart, and thinking of themselves as inept missionaries, they would have been looking across at Macedonia, Greece -- that's Europe. They retire for the night, wondering what to do next.

Mosaic of Paul's vision at Troas

During the night Paul had a vision.
A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us."

God's plan for their missionary journey had been staring them in the face. For weeks now, circumstances of different sorts had been being nudging and pushing them westward, in the opposite direction from where they wanted to go.

When he had seen the vision,
we sought passage to Macedonia at once, 
concluding that God had called us to proclaim the Good News to them.

They "concluded" that they were to bring the gospel to Europe for the first time. Their conclusion was helped, obviously, by Paul's vision, but it was still a conclusion based on events: They looked at those mysterious setbacks that had kept upsetting their own plans, and recognized how those circumstances had been pushing them westward toward Europe.

Although you and I don't normally receive visions to help us interpret the setbacks in our lives, this passage can encourage us by suggesting that God uses the seeming failures in our lives to move forward the plot of our personal history. Why not pray to Paul and Timothy that we'll be able to see God's mysterious will working itself out in the struggles and failures in our daily lives?