Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I travelled to India in June, I took the book, “The Loneliness and Longing of St. Francis,” to read along the way. This is no ordinary book. On the one hand, this book tells the story of St. Francis’ incredible journey from being a rich notorious youth to a radical follower of Christ; on the other hand, the story is the journey of Gerard Thomas Straub, a Hollywood film maker and a professing atheist. Straub once used to have Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore star in front of his camera. He also was the producer of the famous television serial General Hospital. In March 1985 he went to Rome on a visit and chose the quiet of a church to rest a while. He did not enter the church to pray but to take a break. The rest is history. In his book, “The Thoughts of a Blind Beggar,” he says, “Within the space of a fleeting moment, I knew … that God was real, that God loved me, and that the hunger and thirst I had felt for so long could be satisfied only by God.” That was only the beginning. Inspired by Christ and St. Francis, Straub’s new found faith, like, Abraham, led him to places and to make changes he never imagined. His conversion took him from riches to self-imposed poverty, from future fame to embracing the poor, from the comfort of his Hollywood home to the slums of Central America, India, and Africa.
As I read the readings for this weekend, I could not but think of Straub. If Jesus asks his disciples to sell all they have and follow him; if he asks them to have the bare minimum for the sake of the kingdom; if he asks them to accumulate treasures in heaven, how does somebody do that? How did Abraham become a model of faith? How difficult is it? How can I do what Abraham, Francis and Straub did?
1. The first reading from the book of Wisdom talks about the Passover - the night that the people of Israel shared the Passover meal and then fled the slavery in Egypt. The book of Wisdom was written only about hundred years before Christ. This means that the author is reflecting upon the Passover experience many centuries after the original event. This means that looking back at life from the big picture perspective is vital to growing in faith. The lessons that the author draws from reflection on the Passover experience are twofold: first, that the Passover was meant to give courage to an afflicted people; and second, that without their explicit knowledge they were participating in a holy task, or as the author would say, “the divine institution.” This reflection has implications for us. This week, look back at your life and try to identify times when you knew God carried you through. With the assurance of the presence of God in the past, we are better able to take faith-filled steps into the future.
2. The second reading is from Hebrews. Once again, the author is reflecting on an event that happened centuries ago in the life of Abraham. Using the example of Abraham, the author tries to impress upon the readers the importance of faith. The author defines faith as, “the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” Abraham did not see the end when he took the first step in faith. Francis of Assisi did not see the end result when he first decided to give up warfare. Straub did not know where God was leading him when he first decided to abandon commercial films. How can we develop such faith? The first step, as I said in the first point, is to learn from the past. The second way to develop Abraham-like faith is to actually practice it. Faith is a learning by doing. If I can suggest a practical implication, it is simply this: think about an area in your life where anxiety or fear plagues you; or think about something to which you are being led by God and you are struggling to take the first steps. Perhaps you could take the first small step in Abraham-like faith. Faith is a learning by doing.
3. The gospel reading, if put into practice, could be a great way to practice faith. Jesus says to his disciples, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” In the early Christian church and then for centuries, thousands of people did exactly this. In our times, Gerard Thomas Straub did it. They traded their physical existence for the heavenly one; they gave away their possessions to imitate Christ; they abandoned the pursuit of earthly pleasures for eternal ones. And they did it without laying eyes on their prize. We too must learn to “provide for ourselves money bags that do not wear out but rather inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”
We are present at this Eucharist because even on earth, this is a taste of heaven. May we always work toward that which is eternal. May our treasure be heaven, and may our heart be led there in faith.
- Fr. Satish Joseph