To listen to this homily, click here.
Earlier this summer, I allowed myself
to be convinced to get on some of the rides for the parish picnic. Waiting for
the ride to start, I was moved to deep, philosophical thoughts, mostly
involving faith. I couldn’t help but think of the tremendous amount of faith
that I was about to put in some latches, a lap bar, and two carnival workers
named Bubba and Squawker, who operated the ride and would be in a different
city the next day. I was literally entrusting my life to some simple devices
and some strangers I didn’t know. Now, don’t get me wrong, this little
reflection didn’t stop me from being flung around on a couple rides but I think
it can give us good reason to stop and ponder the role of faith in our everyday
lives.
Faith is an important part of each and every one of
our lives. I am not just talking
about a religious sort of faith but a general trust we rely on everyday in
order to be happy and productive. We constantly put our trust in all sorts of
people and things. We trust the roads we travel on and the many different
bridges we cross to be safe and stable. We have faith in the people around us
on the road; that they will stay in their lane, stop at red lights and go in
the proper direction of traffic. We trust that the money we receive at the
store, from the bank, or from others is genuine and not counterfeit, just to
name a few examples. In other words, we make use of faith often, in little and
large ways each and every day so that we can be people who are happy, productive,
and sane.
But oftentimes, when it comes to trusting God we are
a little hesitant. While we may readily put our faith in other people, things, and
systems, we can often draw the line when it comes to placing our trust in God
or what he is asking us to do. Often the will of God seems unfamiliar or overly
difficult and when we are face to face with what he asks us, -- we chose to
ignore it or do something else. But we are called to be a people of faith, a
people that trusts God in all things.
Our second reading today, the letter to the Hebrews,
calls us to this life of faith in God. And the author of the letter to the
Hebrews gives us the person of Abraham as our example and model. He highlights
three different incidents in the life of Abraham that demonstrate his
extraordinary faith and trust in God. If we look closely at these stories, we
see three distinct areas where Abraham’s faith was tested: the humanly
impossible, the journey into the unknown, and the challenge to give back to
God.
The first instance of faith is when Abraham and his
wife Sarah are told by God that they are going to have a child -- even though
they are both well past the age of childbearing. Despite the fact that this
would normally be humanly impossible, Abraham believes and they have a child
named Isaac and they become the parents of the great nation of Israel.
The second example of great faith that Abraham
demonstrates is when he leaves the land of his ancestry and journeys to a
foreign and unknown land. Why does he do this? Because God tells him to. And
what is the result? Abraham is blessed with even greater prosperity and
establishes a new home in a new land where he receives the inheritance promised
to him by God.
The third and final example of faith that is given
to us by the Author of the Hebrews is the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of
his son Isaac. Yahweh asked Abraham to take his only beloved son, Isaac, up a
mountain and offer him in sacrifice to Lord. God was testing Abraham, to see
how much he loved him and to see the degree of faith that Abraham had in the
Lord. When Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac, the Lord told him to stop and
sacrifice a bull instead. Abraham was considered faithful and righteous in
God’s eyes because he was willing to offer back to God his very own son, that
which was most precious to him.
This faith of Abraham is not just a nice story. It
demonstrates the faith we are called to have as Christians and children of God.
At different times in our lives, our faith will be tested in the same three
ways that Abraham was.
Perhaps God is asking us to consider things that we
might think humanly impossible. This could mean being open to the possibility
of another child. Or maybe looking at our schedules and finding ways to commit
more of our time to our family, our community, or our parish. It could even be
that God wants us to dig a little deeper to support some charity, our parish,
or a person in need.
Like Abraham, most of us will also have to journey
into the unknown at some point in our life. This could be the foreign land
caused by the death of a close friend or family member. It could be the loss of
a job or a change of career. Our journey into the unknown might even be some
sort of sickness or loss of health.
Because God has blessed us so abundantly, we can be
sure that he will ask us to offer something back to him, as a sign of our love
and faith. For some of our young people, God is asking you to give yourself to
his Church as priests, religious brothers, and sisters. For parents, God may be
calling you to encourage and support your children to consider such a call. In
addition to our hearts, God will ask all of us to offer some of our precious
time and material resources back to him and to the service of the gospel.
Abraham was a man of great faith and it was this
faith that enabled him to follow God and do his will when it came to the
humanly impossible, the journey into the unknown, and giving back to God. As
God's children, we will encounter the same challenges and tests. The challenge
for us today is to pray and listen for the guidance of God that we may be
people who respond to such challenges with the faith of Abraham. God will
reward our faith, just as he did with Sarah and Abraham, with blessings beyond
what we could ever expect or imagine.
