FAITH. FAITHFULNESS

October 16, Saturday

TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      Faith consists in encountering a living God and taking him at his word, believing in a promise. This is what Abraham did, and God fulfilled the promise. This is, in a way, what two young people do when they embark on a marriage. They trust that they can make it, that they can deepen their relations, that they will grow in love and faithfulness. This is the adventure of the religious: they believe in a promise – that’s why they make a vow – a promise to a Christ who promises. A promise belongs to the order of love: a trust, a love, and a faithfulness that keep growing.

      To those that are faithful to him, Christ promises to let his Spirit speak and work in them in times of trial.

 

First Reading: Romans 4:13,16-18

That famous promise God gave Abraham—that he and his children would possess the earth—was not given because of something Abraham did or would do. It was based on God’s decision to put everything together for him, which Abraham then entered when he believed.

This is why the fulfillment of God’s promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply embracing him and what he does. God’s promise arrives as pure gift. That’s the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is father of us all. He is not our racial father—that’s reading the story backward. He is our faith father.

We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody. Isn’t that what we’ve always read in Scripture, God saying to Abraham, “I set you up as father of many peoples”? Abraham was first named “father” and then became a father because he dared to trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word make something out of nothing. When everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the basis of what he saw he couldn’t do but on what God said he would do. And so he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him, “You’re going to have a big family, Abraham!”

 

Gospel: Luke 12:8-12

Stand up for me among the people you meet and the Son of Man will stand up for you before all God’s angels. But if you pretend you don’t know me, do you think I’ll defend you before God’s angels?

“If you bad-mouth the Son of Man out of misunderstanding or ignorance, that can be overlooked. But if you’re knowingly attacking God himself, taking aim at the Holy Spirit, that won’t be overlooked.

“When they drag you into their meeting places, or into police courts and before judges, don’t worry about defending yourselves—what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there. The Holy Spirit will give you the right words when the time comes.”

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
you can bring the dead back to life.
You want us to trust you
and to believe in your promises.
Give us a faith strong enough
to keep hoping in the good news
of your power that can renew the world,
of people capable of unity and peace,
of the joy of a fresh love
that can bear all and do all
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Be a witness, every day!

Jesus continues to prepare his disciples for trials that they would face in the future. He encourages them to be steadfast in their faithfulness to Christ as their Lord. The imageries of the Son of Man and the angels of God that Jesus used here were taken from the Book of Daniel, where the author spoke about the final judgment of the world.

Jesus seems to present two kinds of sins – words against the Son of Man and against the Holy Spirit. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit would not be forgiven, says Jesus. What would constitute blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?  Jesus acknowledges that not all are strong-willed to withstand torture and persecutions. Under the pressure of torture, some might break down and disown Jesus – as it happened with St. Peter. A momentary breakdown in courage which the Lord forgives and even appoints him to be the leader of the Church. But a refusal to believe in the saving grace of Jesus – a radical denial of Jesus and loss of faith is the blasphemy against the Spirit. This was the failure of Judas, who freely chose to put himself beyond the desire for reconciliation.

A disciple must always be ready to acknowledge his allegiance to Jesus. St. Luke must have been warning the members of his community who were under attack for their faith. He encourages them to stand strong in moments of trials and persecutions because Jesus had predicted such persecutions and killings. Witnessing to Jesus is the mission of every Christian and  Luke wants his community to grow in the habit of giving witness to the Lord in words and actions in their daily life. That would enable them to stand for Christ and his gospel with courage, in times of trials and struggles as well.

Jesus raises this question with his disciples and with us today. Are you willing to acknowledge me as Lord in our daily life? In times to come, Jesus’ disciples will be dragged before civic and religious authorities. Jesus wants them not to be afraid or worried but to believe in God’s providential care. The Gospel calls us to fearlessly bear witness to Christ every day of our lives.

Every day we do a lot of talking! We talk to a lot of people – at home, in the neighbourhood, in the work place… . We send SMS, we write emails, we watch TV, we listen to the radio… Every day, thousands of words leave our lips or reach our ears. What are we talking about? What do we hear? How many of these words in some way give glory to God, or give witness to Jesus in whom we believe?

 

Video available on Youtube : Be a witness, every day!