_{Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Homilies}

_{Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (c) 2010
August 15, 2010}

"Faith is the substance of what we hope for and the evidence of things we do not see."  That saying is on my desk and I read it every day. Today we see a very good example of faith in the story of Abraham. In faith he obeyed God and went out to a place he didn't know. By faith he and Sarah brought forth a son Isaac in their old age. And in faith Abraham offered up his beloved son Isaac as God asked, and he received him back.

As we listen in wonder to the story of Abraham and Sarah, because she was with him through all of this, we can't help but wonder if our faith is as strong as theirs was. Their faith was oriented toward the future. They believed that God would keep promises no matter how hopeless things might seem. And God did!  They found the land God promised; they had a son who would give them heirs; and after testing Abraham's loyalty and obedience, God gave back that son to bring joy to their old age.

What about us?  Do we have this kind of faith?  Yes, the world has changed. We live in a different time. Perhaps we don't always sense God as close as Abraham and Sarah did. But God is equally close if not closer because God's Son has saved us all and is here among us always!  That Son of God, Jesus, said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom."

In other words, God will give us what we need. Then why don't we all have big, fancy, homes; why don't we all have sufficient food, sufficient medical care, sufficient education, sufficient goods of the earth?  And why is it that when we think of God's blessings, we think of material goods, comfortable lives, or a life without suffering?

Well, Jesus never promised us a yellow brick road or said life would be a rose garden. After he told us not to be afraid any longer, he told us to sell our belongings and give alms. He told us that where our treasure is, there also will our heart be. If our heart is set only on material things, a good life, of course we will miss out on what God promised us in Jesus. Sometimes we forget that Jesus' life on earth wasn't all sweetness and joy either.

That fear that Jesus spoke of is probably what we know as anxiety, and we all know what anxiety is about. If we don't have enough to eat or a place to stay or a way to keep our children clothed and fed, we know what anxiety is. If we have everything we need and even more, we have anxiety regarding how to maintain our comfortable life.

Putting our faith in Jesus can change that for us. Faith in Jesus can help us to be aware of things from a new perspective. We can see what matters more than material goods . . . family, friends, a more just society, a more peaceful world, even our own personal and spiritual development. Maybe we have been anxious about the wrong things and need to see things more from Jesus' perspective.

If we are followers of Jesus we should be free from anxiety over material goods. You heard me right!  We should be free from anxiety over material goods. We should be free to share what we have with others. Imagine what our world would be like if more of us were concerned for others, for people starving, for homeless people, for justice for the oppressed. We could change the world. It has been said that if all Catholics in the United States of America truly tithed 10%, truly bought into the stewardship way of life, hunger and homelessness in the U. S . would be eliminated completely!

Being a disciple of Jesus can be a real challenge. He didn't have an easy life either, so who are we to expect to have it better?  We can't all sell everything we have to give alms, but we can all give. We can give something of ourselves.

Mother Teresa said that people don't need just food . They need the touch of a hand, the sound of a voice, because food lasts only for a day, but love is forever.

Let's look into our lives and see what is more important than material goods. Let's see where we can give more than food . . . a voice or a touch.  We can start with our families whom we so often take for granted. Then we can move on to our friends, co-workers, and classmates. A single compliment can brighten an anxious day. A smile or a word of gratitude can change an anxious heart.

Let's try to be real disciples of Jesus, giving up our fears and reaching out to others.  Jesus said that our Father is pleased to give us the kingdom. Now it is time for us to conform to this kingdom by changing our lives!

Let us begin to look at everything with a Jesus perspective!  Where is your treasure?  Where is your heart?