Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Click to read more clearly

Lectionary: 117

(Abraham) thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy.

Our tradition from Abraham through Moses, King David, Jesus and all the saints assures us: God is worthy of our trust. That same tradition also says, “Faith never comes easily.” 

We might suppose this or that patriarch, prophet or martyr should have had it easy after all he had seen. Didn’t Abraham walk with God? Didn’t Isaiah see him seated on his throne in the temple? Didn’t Mary chat with the Angel Gabriel and witness the (most unusual) birth of John the Baptist? Could they possibly not believe in God after such experiences?

Faith is grounded in our experience. The Bible and the Church insist on that:

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life…  (I John 1:1)

Our faith is also eminently reasonable. We do not teach anything which is irrational or ridiculous. Although we have no proof of life after death, it is not unreasonable to believe God will show extraordinary mercy to his faithful people. Can a caterpillar imagine a butterfly or a tadpole a frog? Can an unborn child suppose she might leap and dance upon solid ground in a few short months? There is nothing irrational about expecting the unexpected, especially when our scientists continually stumble upon unexpected wonders. Only the most unimaginative empiricist might insist there is no life after death, but she has no evidence to prove her theory.

So we have both experience and rationality to make it easier to believe in God. But the believer must still make the hard decision to trust the Word of God. Persuasion and argumentation, urging and cajoling can only lead us to the edge of faith. They will not take us over.

I worked as a life guard at a summer camp many years ago. I remember a camp counselor who swam like a fish but could not dive into the water. He could jump in feet first, (no problem!) but could not fall into it head first. I tried to show him how easy it is; I stood behind him and reassured him with many words. Standing at the edge of the pool, he bent over and touched his toes. He only had to lean farther and let gravity do its thing. And there he stood with his head down, his legs straight and his butt high.

Finally, in adolescent frustration, I pushed him in. That didn’t help at all. When he climbed out of the pool and resumed his diving position, he still did not trust the water.

Jesus teaches us to believe incrementally, by slow steps. First, we must take up our crosses daily and follow him. This constant practice will dispose us to faith. We will “die” to the little, unimportant things – those needs and desires and preferences that seem like life and death when we set out. We will learn to do the unimaginable, like weekly attendance at Church and daily prayer and habitual sacrifice for our loved ones. We’ll decide to tell the truth all the time, even when it’s embarrassing or costly. 


We’ll pass up opportunities when we detect the faint stench of sin. We will not rejoice in the humiliation of fools, or gloat over undeserved blessings. We’ll discover the beauty of honest, unpretentious people who have no standing in any society. 

Little by little we will die to ourselves so that, when the Big Day comes, we’ll quite naturally follow the Lord Jesus through the narrow gate of death into Eternal Bliss.