PROVIDENCE? Divine

If you’re like me, you often wish others “good luck” with some undertaking. Or, when the Chiefs get a turnover at a key point in a game, exclaim “that was lucky!” Others identify a lucky object of some sort: a hat, a jersey, a fishing rod. Gamblers often talk of luck in poker and blackjack and other games of chance. But what exactly is luck, and is it consistent with being a Christian who lives by Faith? As we approach Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, this question is a timely one. After all, we also often speak of the “luck of the Irish.”

Luck is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a force that brings good fortune or adversity [as with bad luck].” A variation of the definition includes the concept of chance and factors that are unpredictable. So, what are we to make of all this? Is there a “force” that guides the unpredictable events of our lives for good or ill?

One can think of luck as a form of superstition, such as a black cat crossing one’s path will bring bad luck. This is a false belief in causation and chance whereby supernatural forces can be managed and controlled as if by magic. This approach to luck is contrary to the Christian Faith.

For the Christian, there is a force in the world that guides and holds everything in being. That force is God, the Holy Spirit. Likewise, Christians also believe in the work and action of angels, those pure spirits who are unseen, but who nevertheless have an active role in God’s plan and our human history. A term that speaks of God’s benevolent action in our lives is Divine Providence — God’s generous love which guides and provides for all his creatures. Our Faith, articulated in the Lord’s Prayer, is that God is our Father — a good Father who loves us and wants to give us good things. Jesus em - phasized this on the occasion when he gave a teaching on prayer: “Would one of you hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf, or a poisonous snake when he asks for a fish? If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks him.” (Mt 7:9-11)

Christians believe that the world is not a big game of chance. We also know that while this world is guided and sustained by God, he has also allowed for human freedom, which means that things can go wrong when we go wrong. There are also random natural forces in the world that are a part of God’s Divine Providence that can hurt or even kill us, like lightning bolts, cancer and grizzly bears. The mystery we live with is that all of this is part of God’s will, and none of it is luck. We can still wish our friends “good luck” in words of goodwill and support. Or, after an errant golf shot hits a tree and lands on the green, say, “That was lucky.” But we do so not in superstition, but in the knowledge that God holds the world in his loving hands and that all blessings come from him, and even all our crosses and disappointments are somehow aligned for our benefit too. It’s not luck at all — but grace!