1 Sam 9:1-4, 17-19: 10: / Mark 2:13-17
"All's well that ends well". The meaning of that saying is that an event that has a good ending is good even if some things went wrong along the way.
So it may also mean that a good start to a day may not mean a good end to the day, or that a bad start may mean it's going to be a bad end.
Because life is like a cycle of ups and downs and there are reversal of fortunes.
Even in the spiritual realm, it can be like that. And that's what we heard in the two readings.
In the 1st reading, the impressive Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, and he started off well in serving God and His people.
But along the way, things got messy and he became an insecure, brooding and temperamental man.
In the gospel was a tax collector, Levi son of Alphaeus, someone who was detested by his own people. By choosing that profession, he had chosen the direction of his status in life.
But in answering the call of Jesus, he changed direction as well as profession.
So for Levi, it is a case of "all's well that ends well" but not so for Saul.
These two figures from today's readings tell us we shouldn't be too confident of ourselves when we had a good start, nor do we need to be too discouraged when things don't go well.
If we had a good starting, let us pray for a good ending, where God will be all in all.
If we had a bumpy and rocky start, let us pray for God's guidance so that all's well that end well.
But whichever way we start, let us keep faith and focus on God who will be our end.