Jesus today is strengthening our faith, and this gift requires a response on our part. So, let’s ask: What would shake our faith in Jesus? If someone were rude to us at Mass, would we stop coming? That might sound silly, but some people do leave for that reason. What if we were diagnosed with cancer? If our children died? In 2019, the scandal regarding the now ex-Cardinal McCarrick shook some people and they haven’t been back to Mass. Are we allowing anything in our life to weaken our faith in Jesus right now?
It’s good to ask these questions because they expose temptations. Once we realize we’re allowing something to pull us away from Jesus, then we can resist it—that resistance is the response of love. So, if you’re resisting any temptation right now and clinging to Jesus, good for you! Praise God!
The Second Reading is a celebration of Abraham and Sarah’s faith: “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place… and he set out, not knowing where he was going… By faith Sarah… though barren, received power to conceive, even when she was too old, because she considered him faithful who had promised” (Heb 11:8,11). Question: Generally speaking, does faith lead us to our comfort zone or outside of it? This is because God the Father calls us to serve Him and others, and this is always stretching. But faith also allows us to know that God is faithful to His promises. Jesus never promised an easy life—are we clear about this? He reminded us that we would suffer, but promised He would take care of us—are we clear about that?
The Holy Spirit is offering us an increase of faith today and we need to nurture the gift by obedience. The text says, ‘Abraham obeyed’ because faith and obedience go together.
Remember the image of the tightrope? I haven’t shared this in eight years, so people new here need to hear it. Let’s say a man walks a tightrope across Niagara Falls. Before he goes, he gets on the PA system and asks the crowd of 100,000 people, ‘Do you believe I can do it?’ They shout back, ‘We believe!’ 25 minutes later, he makes it across the falls. Then he says, ‘Now I’m going to go back across blindfolded—do you believe I can do it?’ They shout, ‘We believe!’ When he finally makes it across, the crowd roars, and he says, ‘Now I’m going to do it with a person on my back—do you believe I can do it?’ ‘We believe!’ He says, ‘I need a volunteer.’
Faith grows when we obey Jesus. And we only know we trust Him when it’s difficult. In 1995, Deacon Carl Cleveland was arrested on false charges as part of a political scandal and he was going to lose everything if convicted. Before his trial, a friend wrote a letter that included this quote of St. Paul, “[The Lord] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness’” (2 Cor 12:9). Interestingly, this quote was also the Reading at daily Mass on the day of the trial—the odds of that happening are 0.2%, which made him pay attention to that verse. During the trial he was found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison. He said, “My life was over!… All that I could cling to for hope was the Scripture promise that we are never challenged beyond our ability to endure, if we are open to God’s bountiful graces” (Amazing Grace for Those Who Suffer, 39). The first letter he received in prison was from a priest who said, “The real challenge of mature Christianity is to bear our crosses bravely, in faith. We need only surrender in faith and patiently and prayerfully await the moment when God will reveal Himself to us more fully.” This priest also quoted 2 Corinthians 12.
To make a long story short, while in prison, he went from despair and survival mode to a deep trust in God. It was through reading Scripture that he found hope. One year in, he lost his appeal, but continued to grow in confidence in God’s care. And two and a half years later, he was released.
Not all suffering ends that happily. But the lesson is that “God’s grace is enough for us in all of life’s trials” (59).
The only time in the Gospels Jesus is amazed is when people lack faith or have great faith. Why does He respond so strongly to faith? Because trust is the foundation of relationships.
Today, I’d like to suggest that we pray something like this: ‘Jesus, I’ll never leave You, no matter what happens. Jesus, I’ll never leave the Catholic Church or the Eucharist,’ because He founded the Catholic Church and He is truly, really, and substantially present in the Eucharist. When people leave the Church or the Eucharist, their following of Jesus decreases: They don’t read the Bible and the saints more, but less; they don’t pray more with other Christians, but less; they don’t evangelize more, but less.
Also, every Sunday, try to stop working and rest! Trust that Jesus will take care of things. This is why the Church teaches it’s a venial sin to do unnecessary work and shopping on Sunday.
Lastly, today, Jack Ong will help distribute Holy Communion. We have the custom here of only having bishops, priests, and deacons give Communion because of the marriage imagery that Jesus discussed: The clergy represent Christ the Bridegroom (masculine), who gives His life for the bride, the Church (feminine). Whenever Deacon Andrew is away, we look for deacons to help, but no one’s available, and so we realized that the Holy Spirit was guiding us to have Jack do it, because he’s been in formation for the diaconate for two years now. Some months ago he petitioned the archbishop to move ahead in his training and his letter indicated that, if he’s ordained and later his wife, Pollyanna, passes away before he does, then he’s under the obligation not to remarry and remain celibate for the sake of the kingdom. I saw that petition and promise as signs of faith.
Jesus always gives us gifts. Our response in faith can be: “I’ll never leave You, the Church, or the Eucharist. I trust in You.”