A philosopher once said
“Out
of crooked humanity, no straight thing can be built”.
A witty way of saying
that no matter how good our intentions, or how smart we are, as human beings (bound
to the human condition) we cannot go it alone.
Left to our own devices we fall into every personal, social, cultural or
economic snare that ever was or ever will be.
I was shown a very recent NASA photo taken from Saturn and
it shows Earth as a tiny dot amidst the vast blackness. Together with the
philosopher’s quote, it gave me a real sense that we are not as grand and as important
as we think we are.
What has this to do
with what the 1st reading calls “Sure Knowledge” or the 2nd
reading calls “Faith” or the Gospel “ A Treasure”?
In the midst of this vast cosmos and the crookedness of this world only God is ultimately
significant, steadfast and faithful.
But, through God’s gift of Faith and our communion with Him
we can share in and benefit from His divine significance and faithfulness. Through
Faith we share nothing less than divine life.
This is not a secret. God wants this know. God wants to share. His
very nature is communion. He has always desired
to love us and be loved by us. But, humanity for the most part has turned away
from God. His gift of Faith openly
offered has become a hidden treasure –but, hidden in plain sight.
Salvation History is
the story of this treasure hunt |with God always offering us the map|and acting
in the world as our guiding light. The Father even sent his Son to show us the
way and we know that Jesus never pointed to himself but, always right at His Father’s
treasure. Our human response to all this divine generosity can only be our
humble Faith.
But, not a frozen static Faith, which isn’t faith at all,
but Faith that is active and transforming and lived out in Hope & Love in
everyday lives. It is the active Faith of Abraham, Isaac, and the prophets. It
is Faith made absolute in Jesus. Pope Francis recently wrote -
“Faith, received from
God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey
through time. The light of Faith is
unique, since is it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human
existence.” Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis
What Pope Francis calls a supernatural gift, St Paul told
the Ephesians is
“a plan to be carried out in
Christ, to bring all into one in him.”
Amidst the crooked paths of humanity and the black vastness
of the cosmos there is a supernatural light, a perfect plan, that from that
first day to this very day and beyond, is bringing all into one in him. This
gets back to human faith which our confident and transforming trust in God and
His Promise.
The first reading tells us that Faith is “sure knowledge”. Faith is not blind. It is not wishful thinking. It is not childish. It is acquired knowledge!
It is a gift, but it is wrestled with and
hard won. Faith is rock solid from lived experience of God (from those before
us, those with us and our own). It is the heart’s confident trust first set by Abraham and built upon by God’s
chosen people. Faith is the foundation of the People of God with Jesus as its
corner stone. Faith (as the saying goes, is something you can bet your life on).
It is not only sure knowledge of some past event, but it is a sure thing because
God is active in the world and he continues to do what he said he would do, sometimes,
beyond our perception and understanding, and regardless of our pride &
folly.
From the beginning when God declared everything he made good
he was trustworthy.God will keep his promises.
Abraham and Sarah knew this and are examples of this “sure knowledge”
this transforming and active Faith. St Paul describes Faith and gives us a
working definition -
“The realization of
what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”
The Faith you and I share “our sure knowledge” our
“realization & evidence” Is a sign that we have already share in God’s
Treasure (this is the Good News).
The Gospel message connects Faith with Fidelity.
“Do not be afraid for
your father is pleased to give you his Kingdom”
The Treasure that is God’s - is ours. He holds nothing back.
Some don’t know this, others don’t care and still others don’t dare believe it.
God is continually pouring out His life upon us; now, in Faith, Hope & Love
and in the future as inheritors of his kingdom. And like any treasure; it must
be discovered, cherished, protected, and used well.
We discover it in Scripture,
the story of Salvation. We discover it most
profoundly in the Life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We discover it in the community of believers
and in ourselves in the silence of communion with God.
We cherish this treasure (Good News) and protect it because
it is where our heart is. It is who we
are. This is what Ezekiel gets at when he says that we will get a new heart and
a new spirit; our stony heart is replaced by a natural heart. Because, a heart full of Spirit & turned
towards God - is a Faith filled heart -and a faith filled heart - is the
natural condition of the human heart.
And Our Treasure of Faith must be used wisely; to soften
fear and anxiety in ourselves and others, to enliven our charity, to embolden
our love of God, and neighbor. In the light of Faith we do not focus on what
hurts us, but on what gives us life. Faith keeps us strong, resilient, and vigilant.
Jesus reminds us that that this great supernatural gift from
God is a binding contract – a covenant.
Jesus says -
“Much will be required
of the person entrusted with much and still more will be demanded of the person
entrusted with more”
We have indeed been entrusted with much – more than we can
ever imagine, perhaps more than we deserve. The Treasure of Faith is ours, but don’t
own it. It is not ours to do (or not do)
with as we please. We do not create it,
but we are certainly responsible for it.
The seed of Faith is received at baptism, but it must be nurtured and cherished in the family by
creating a home of tenderness and fidelity. It must be nourished and protected by the sacramental life of Word and Eucharist
in the Church. And it must be active and lived out in this world by authentic
Christian lives. Whatever our vocation or role, we are all stewards of God’s
gift of Faith.
We are given the task to not only love and live in peace and
joy, but also to remain steadfast, be obedient,
hardworking, and vigilant, until the Lord returns, and we must hand back this precious gift of Faith
which has been entrusted to us.
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