Aug. 11, 2013: 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
How many of you have heard the following important message? “Ladies and gentlemen, the Captain has turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign. If you haven’t already done so, please stow your carry-on luggage underneath the seat in front of you or in an overhead bin.” Then the flight attendant says, “If you are seated next to an emergency exit, please read carefully the special instructions card located by your seat. If you do not wish to perform the functions described in the event of an emergency, please ask a flight attendant to reseat you.” Honestly, how many of you have dozed off by then? It’s not that we are careless, but we have faith that the crew and the plane are going to get us to our destination safely without any incident. But after recent fatal airplane landings, we may want to pay attention to what to do in case of an accident.
We live by faith all the time. How can we fly on an airplane, go under anesthesia for surgery, or drive 70 miles an hour on the Interstate everyday without confidence and trust that hope of a safe arrival will be fulfilled? A priest once said faith is a confidence that allows us to make our daily decisions about future hopes based on a certain amount of present evidence. St. Paul in our Second Reading puts it another way, “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”
If we are asked whether we have faith in Jesus, most of us will say yes. “Yes, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God...Yes, I believe that Jesus loves me.” What we may mean is that we agree to truths and doctrines. Jesus asks us in the Gospel today if indeed we have faith in him, are we willing to step out on faith. An image from scripture comes to mind where two blind men begged Jesus to perform a miracle to allow them to see again. “Do you believe that I can do this?” Jesus asked them. “Yes, Lord,” they said. Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “Let it be done for you according to your faith.”
We often talk about we having faith in Jesus, but have you ever thought about Jesus having faith in you? We may say to ourselves, “Lord, you know plainly my weakness and how easily I fall into temptations. I have already failed you in many things. And perhaps the lifestyle that I’m living right now is displeasing to you. Yet you still have faith in me? Do you really believe that I can do what you are asking me to do?” I wonder what Peter was thinking when Jesus reaffirmed his love for Peter by asking Peter three times, “Do you love me?”
When someone has faith in us, we can accomplish great things that we didn’t know we could. Last week a woman and her teen aged daughter came in for financial assistance. Their food stamps had been cut off, their electricity was about to be disconnected, and they live in a high risk neighborhood where a person was recently shot. Their environment was full of hopelessness. When we asked the daughter what she would like to be in the future, the daughter replied with confidence and determination, “a registered nurse.” I wondered where she received confidence and determination. She told me that she belonged to a JROTC program at her school. One teacher, who happens to be one of our parishioners, having faith in this student made all the difference.
Can you imagine then, how our lives will change when we realize that Jesus has so much faith in us? He has faith that all of us are capable of becoming saints. No matter where we are in our lives, whether we are living a less than saintly lives, whether we are distracted in going after worldly pursuits, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid any longer, my sons and daughters, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.” What is our response to such great faith that Jesus has for us?
