Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr C 2025

Title

Living by Trust

Outline

Our world does not trust faith

On the one hand, there are those who relegate faith to the irrational, the unreal, the dreamworld. Usually these are unbelievers. And on the other hand, there are the believers who speak about living by faith as living on nothing, as child neglect, and as dishonoring the gospel. And they can give examples in which this was true.

This is because our language in general thinks of faith as believing something that is not seen, heard or experienced, i.e. as an idea, concept or thought. Scripture knows that one must believe that, believe something before one can believe someone, but mostly it thinks of faith as trusting someone and acting on their instructions, even in their absence, because one trusts them.

Wisdom is a summary of the Exodus

After a series of experiences with God and his plagues on Egypt they had been instructed to keep Passover and simply obeyed. They trusted God’s word through Moses and were delivered. Of course, we who have read Exodus know that this trust was weak and short lived, but it was enough to get them out of Egypt.

Hebrews centers on Abraham

He trusted God’s word and obeyed “not knowing where he was to go.” And he kept on trusting for he never owned more land that the burial plot he purchased for Sarah and he never saw more descendants of Isaac than Jacob and Esau. And he had to wait long years and several dead ends to get Isaac and then had to trust God when he bound and started to sacrifice Isaac according to divine command. Hebrews said he “saw” a better land and trusted God could raise Isaac from the dead. I would sum it up more simply: he knew and trusted God and lived “a long obedience in the same direction” because of this trust. That is faith.

Jesus makes this concrete for us

He speaks of the homeland the Father has promised: “your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” He speaks of preparing for that homeland: “sell you belongs and give alms” for this puts one’s treasure and therefore one’s heart in one’s homeland. The stories of the saints are replete with examples of those who simply did this. They trusted, they loved, and therefore obeyed.

Jesus knew that waiting would be long and staying alert to the hope would be hard so he gives us a double parable about that to teach that it will be worth it.

And Jesus responds to Peter by pointing out their their privileged position will bring rewards, but only if they - and we - live obediently in patient trust and hope. Woe indeed to him who abuses their position because they have lost hope. Such will end up with the unbelievers.

So, Sisters, I prayer for an infusion of more faith, that is more trust, hope, and love, which leads to obedience every morning. I pray to endure to the end in this attitude. And I spend more and more time with Jesus daily.

I trust that you are doing the same in your own way.