Nineteenth Sunday Ordinary Time Year C
Rev. Thomas Kuffel
Faith, a gift given at baptism, glistens like a diamond with its many facets. Faith penetrates these facets and sees into the abyss of the divine infinite. The divine infinite, God’s glory, a multifaceted reality, reveals his power, perfection, and presence to those who cultivate the gift. Faith explores these facets, seeing God’s power to create out of nothing, then recreate everything after the fall. Faith explores God’s perfection revealing He has no flaws and those who live their faith will have their flaws honed. Through faith we enter into the Divine Presence, being taken up by his wonder and awe, transfigured by his grace.
Faith needs nourishment “to live, grow and persevere” (CCC # 162). Faith “‘working through charity,’ abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church” (CCC #162) nourishes the soul so it has the strength to delve deep into the mysteries. Without proper nourishment faith wanes and is even lost because of distractions, corruptions, and neglect.
Prophecy, another facet, produces a promising future in which we proclaim that the divine truths of the Catholic Faith revealed protect us from error. Truth, the object of faith derived from Scripture and Tradition, is authentic and accurate and must be taught “solidly, faithfully and without error” (Dei Verbum #11) for Tradition and Scripture are the means to our salvation.
Our future is in the hands of the present and the present needs faith more than ever. The present needs faithful stewards ready, willing, and able to serve at a moment’s notice. Good stewards, always prepared, readily sacrifice for faith because they see Jesus as the author of the Truth Who shows us the way to eternal life. Our witness to the Gospel pierces hardened hearts and reveal the mysteries contained within this diamond to those who lack faith. For those struggling with faith, Jesus reminds us “he who endures to the end will be saved’ (Mt 10:22).
Bad stewardship destroys faith. It breaks trust. It creates confusion. It promotes half-truths which lead to divisions. Our faith then is not in princes (Ps 146:3), but in the Prince of Peace Jesus. He is the Good Steward Who creates trust. Trust, another facet of faith, “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). It seeks the First Truth, Jesus, at all costs; then assents to Truth for He protects and promotes us.
Jesus reveals Himself as the Truth. Faith sees Truth, not with the naked eye but with the eyes of the mind illumined. These eyes penetrate the depths of the divine creating hope. Hope, another diamond illuminated by faith, embraces the divine promises, fulfilling our deepest expectations. Without hope, our faith wavers. Faith, however, filled with hope fully assents to all that Jesus reveals because experience affirms what faith believes and what hope expects is real.
Faith, no longer an abstraction but an objective and subjective experience, inspires us, guiding and directing our lives. Inspired, each day we see with the eyes of faith leading us into the future with confidence. Confidence another facet, “has a great reward” (Heb 10:35). It will produce “endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised” (Heb 10:36).
Commenting on faith during difficult times, Pope Benedict addresses those who feel the weight of faith’s corruption and confusion declaring:
“May no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment of history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world” (Pope Benedict Saturday, 20 August 2011).
God promises eternal life for those who persevere in the faith. Nothing deters us, because “endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:4–5). Character forged through trust frees us from the faithlessness caused by deceptions and the hopelessness that come from doubt, discouragement, and despair.
Faith and hope promise us an entrance into the Wedding Feast of the Lamb Who offers us rich food, fine wine, and communion with the Prince of Peace Who gave his life to give us life. Hope-filled faith in the Prince promises a glorious future for those who wait, who are ready at any watch to welcome the Master.
Being ready for his return, the greatest mystery of faith becomes reality. Jesus takes us home to heaven, where He has prepared a particular place for us. In his home, the heavenly Wedding Banquet, He surprises us. He serves us rather than us serving Him. Faith believes and in that belief we witness. However, before we can witness, we need to allow Christ to witness to us. He Who is the Good Steward, comes and when He sees us his servants faithful, ready to receive Him, He “will put on his apron and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them” (Lk 12:37). He serves us, not diminishing Himself but empowering us to become more like Him. Only by experiencing the faithful Steward do we come to understand faith.
No one can give what he does not have. No one can be faithful unless he first experiences faith. No one can serve unless he has been served. Experiencing the fidelity of Jesus Who came to serve and not be served, we, in turn, receive the gift of faith only to become channels of that grace serving others in his name.
Such an odd twist for the faithful. They want to minister to the Lord. Instead, the Bridegroom wants to serve us. He has to serve us first otherwise we will never understand the depths of his faith in us.