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27th Sunday of Ordinary Time
10-6-19 |
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Faith Can Move Mountains
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In our gospel today the twelve apostles make
an excellent request of Jesus; increase our faith. Jesus does not
respond directly to their request, He puts the apostles on the spot. The
point of importance, He says, is not how much faith you have, its size,
its amount. What is important is the kind of faith you have, it has to
be genuine. If it was no bigger than a grain of mustard but was genuine,
real, its power would be enormous.
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As I have said before, Roman Catholics are
already people of great faith. We see a thin wafer of bread and we say,
“Lord, I am not worthy to receive you.” We see a condemned criminal on a
cross and we repeat the words of the centurion on Calvary, “Truly, this
is the Son of God.” We hear stories about angels and apostles,
mysteries and miracles. A crib and a cross and we respond, “This is the
Word of the Lord.”
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It is an incredible gift that God has
lavished on us. We are believers, we have the gift of faith that only
God can give. Do you personally ever get doubts? Probably. How is it
possible? Why should an all-powerful God who does not need me become
human for me? Why should God die for me? Why should He love me so much
that He gives me His body and blood any time I care to walk up the isle
at mass?
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You believe that the grave is not the end.
That life everlasting is for most of us. So much of our religion just
does not make human sense. Science can shake our faith, make us pause
and take a second look. Until you remember that with mind and heart you
can do what a billion computers can never do. You can touch God as God
has touched you. With your faith you do not envy space flight, you can
reach God in an instant.
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In a little while we will recite together
the creed. We believe in one God, of all that is seen and unseen. It is
wonderful when we come together and recite that great act of faith. And
if someone wanted to know what we believe, we could point to this creed
and say, “This sums it all up, and this is genuine faith.” But is not
the whole of genuine faith by itself it is not a faith that saves.
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Recall in the New Testament, the Epistle of
St. James, he says “You believe that God is one, you do well, but even
the demons believe that and shudder.” The faith that saves, the faith
that moves mountains is not simply a matter of propositions, precious as
propositions are within a faith that is catholic. My act of faith is to
a person to the person of Christ. Unless Jesus is real to you, as real
as your closet friend, your faith will not grow beyond a list of
propositions.
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In the words of St. Ignatius Loyola, “Let me
know you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more
nearly.” Then you will move mountains, mountains of despair, mountains
of hopelessness, and mountains of fear.” As Catholics, we come closet to
our Savior in the Eucharist. If you are to deepen your relationship
with Christ, I see no substitute for coming together for the Eucharist.
All through history, we gather as the Body of Christ to be fed by the
Body of Christ.
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Because you see faith like a child matures
best within a community of love. Like it or not, we are all part of each
other. As St. Paul says, the one bread makes us one body through many
in number we become what we receive; the body of Christ. In our
technological culture the word faith gives off a bad odor for some.
Faith is a placebo, a sugar-coated pill you give or take when things go
wrong.
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Time and time again, I have seen the
strength of faith, living faith. Loving faith is the most remarkable
gift God gives any of us in this life. Faith is not weakness; faith is
power, the power of God. And if you are going to be skeptic, be an
honest skeptic. Take a long look at Christ; do you know another like
Him? If you write Him off, whom or what will you put in His place?
Follow that trail far enough and you may begin to find your unbelief
unbelievable.
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Doubt is not always bad, but the honest
doubters require themselves, at least occasionally, to doubt their
doubts. Did Christ ever doubt? It would seem so, remember in the garden,
“Father, why have you forsaken me” But look at His death on the cross.
His last words, they are faith-filled, “Father, into your hands I
entrust My Spirit.” He died trusting, trusting in a Father ever
faithful.
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Remember what his enemies said as they
taunted Him on Calvary? He trusts in God, let God deliver Him now if He
wants to, He trusts in God. Perhaps, faith is best described by the
simple story of a young boy flying a kite on a dull day. The kite is out
of sight in a cloud. A man says to the boy, how do you know the kite is
still there? You cannot see it. The boys, I know it is there when I
feel the tug.
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Isn’t that a little like God? Sometimes
difficult to experience, but we know He is there when we feel the tug.
Maybe, that is why we call it faith.
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| Yours in Christ, |
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| Fr. Bob Warren, SA |
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