Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Right at the outset, I would like to create the link between the first reading and the gospel reading, because it gives us the theme for reflection. God says to Ezekiel, “I am sending you to the Israelites…. Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you” (Ez 2:2-5). The gospel reading has Jesus among his own people and God’s words to Ezekiel comes true yet again. Even though Mark ends his gospel by saying that Jesus “… was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mk 6:6), the passage seems to indicate that people were refusing to believe even though they had seen “mighty deeds brought about by his [Jesus’] hands. The people were being, as God said to Ezekiel, “hard of face and obstinate of heart.”
Even though I can take the hard stance of today’s scripture, I would like to approach the readings from a slightly different angle. I would like to reflect on the question, “Why is faith hard?” I think it will help us from merely judging the people in the scriptures but rather focus on our own faith journeys.
Why is Faith Hard?
The first reason that faith is hard is because much of the realm of faith is intangible. St. Paul defines faith as, “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). Heaven, the beatific vision, a life free of suffering – all these are future realities. Faith is hard because that which faith promises is intangible in the here and now.
Second, faith is hard because life is hard. I am talking to a person right now who has been so traumatized that she cannot get herself to believe again. She is not being hard of face and obstinate of heart,’ but rather she is disillusioned because she approached life the right way and instead of happiness, she reaped pain. We expect faith to make life easy. Sometimes, it is the opposite that happens.
The third reason faith is hard is because of human suffering. Our experience of poverty, misery, injustice, oppression, natural disasters, wars, violence, tragedies, illnesses, death and the suffering of the innocent goes against our belief in a good and all-powerful God. The argument often is – if God is good and all powerful, why does God allow human suffering?
Faith – A Natural Ability
Even though faith is hard, faith is a natural, God-given human ability. I mean to say that even those who do not believe in God exercise tremendous faith in daily life and activities. For example, whether one believes in God or not, marriage is an act of faith - two people commit to sharing life together till death do them apart. They have no idea what the future holds but they make an act of faith. When couples decide to have a child, it is an act of faith. They do not know what the child holds for them, but they accept children as a gift. Each day when we get up, get into a car, go to work, or put money in the bank, it is an act of faith. When we take this natural ability for faith and apply that to the divine realm, it becomes religious faith.
Some people find religious faith very difficult even if they practice faith in daily life. For example, Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant minds of our times, simply said, “God is the name people give to the reason we are here, but I think that reason is the laws of physics rather than someone with whom one can have a personal relationship.” I don’t want to judge Hawking, but he simply could not translate his faith in science into faith in God. For others, it is suffering, an existential crisis or even a mental health issue that become obstacles to faith. And then, there are other who are “hard of face and obstinate of heart,” or those who once had religious faith but have made a conscious decision to abandon their faith.
Unlike the people of Israel, unlike the people in Jesus’ town, or unlike Stephen Hawkings, you and I are in church today because we have faith in God. It may not always be easy, but we believe. We believe in a personal God who is our origin and our destiny. But we must nurture our faith. It is a precious gift and our ability to believe needs our care.
Nurturing Faith
What can we do nurture our faith? The best way to nurture faith is to actually practice it –faith contained in the teachings of Jesus and our worship.
First, faith is about practicing Jesus’ teachings, his message, his ministry, his redemptive death, and his resurrection as we read in the Scriptures. For example, the more we practice the love of God and love of neighbor, the more we forgive our enemies, the more we believe that the poor are blessed, the more we practice giving without measure, the more we practice taking care of hungry the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the stranger, and the homeless, the more selfless and Christ-like we become, the stronger will be our faith.
And then, there is our worship. Our faith cannot be nurtured if Mass and the Sacraments are not integral to our lives. Data from a recent Pew Research survey revealed that only 28 percent of Catholics attend Mass each week. Perhaps, this is true for all the sacraments. It is a tragedy. Moreover, our faith cannot be nurtured without the love, support and example of the worshipping community.
As we celebrate this Eucharist, let us bring our faith before God and God to bless it. May our participation in this worship and the faith of the worshipping community nurture and increase our faith.
- Fr. Satish Joseph