We saw Friday night in Paris that faith and belief are different. And can change over time; we pray for the souls in France and all Catholics Christian this morning who have forgotten the demand of faith, the rigorous effort made by those who shed their blood and died for it.. martyred for the sake of God’s Kingdom requires sacrifice…and there is no sacrifice in the images we all see. It is purely self-indulgent, like the movie “Hunger Games,” and it is sad many cannot make the connection.
As we celebrate 4 Deacons of the 70 today, we learn their faith increased as the demands of ministry increased…..and took them far beyond the title of “Diakonos” (“servant,” “waiter,” “minister,” or “messenger”). Faith and belief are different. Faith is not about propositions, nor concepts, nor words, nor anything —relatable to human strength. Likewise, people today believe a certain set of facts about God, and in some cases, their facts may be completely orthodox. However, if you and I have never committed ourselves to God, and if we have not trusted the resurrection, then we may believe, but it is that faith that moves the mountains of life. Biblical faith is never simply giving assent to a certain set of facts. Biblical faith is the trust and commitment that result in a change of behavior. (James 2:19) puts it this way: “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” The demons believe that God exists, and they may even know more about God than people do, but they do not have faith in Him. Faith demands nothing from God. Faith, like love, has only one desire: TRUST. Any time you hear the word Faith, exchange it for TRUST. Do you trust in your relationship with Jesus? Do you give all fear, apprehension, and worry to HIM for the sake of interior calm, peace, and joy?
Faith is what comes of an encounter with the Lord beyond words and human concepts. It is the result of a face-to-face, heart-to-heart encounter with the living God. Faith is a gift given by God to those who have purified their hearts, to those who have learned how to sit at the feet of the Lord in silence, and who practice moment by moment, day by day, month by month, and year after year the constant remembrance of His presence. Faith is a return to the TRUTH. It is the rising within us of the rivers of living water promised by Christ to those who have, as St. Seraphim so beautifully taught, acquired the Holy Spirit.
Faith/ Trust is released when we have taken out the garbage that obstructs worship…. and let go of everything that is unhelpful, unloving, and unhealthy. Loving Christ means abandoning worldly things for simple things……one particular quote from Saint Paul, “WE are fools for Christ’s sake.”
When we compare the worldly allurements of the secular world against the plight of Christians in this world, a very important phrase is that we are to abandon the things that the world holds as important (seeking power, money, authority, etc.) and instead seek the things of a risen Christ (humility, mercy, compassion, etc.).
And this foolishness we are called to live every minute of every day – we make multitudes of small, daily decisions, and those decisions either carry us closer to Christ or farther away. We greet each moment as something new, and in each moment, we have the opportunity to choose the light of purpose and conformity….to Christ. How do our daily decisions make us fools for Christ?
We choose forgiveness when we’re upset; we don’t react in anger. We don’t get even with our enemies; we love them and pray for them. We take responsibility for our actions, we do not pass them off on others or try to cover them with lies.
We do not stand up for ourselves out of ego; we seek the way of Christ’s humility. We are merciful with those around us, not harsh, critical, or overbearing. We set aside our own will and desires, and we do for the other when it is inconvenient. All of these things are foolishness to the world because the world seeks its own wisdom, power over others, and authority from within to be in control, to be right, and to rule.
Ultimately, the world seeks freedom to do as it pleases. Our approach to this is simple: We would say that only in complete obedience (slavery) to Christ can man be truly free. We can only find the reason for our existence and fulfill that reason in Christ.
It may be foolishness to the world, but as Saint Paul says elsewhere, to those who are being saved, it is God’s wisdom and power (1 Corinthians 1:18).
In the gospel, the message is the Christian life is not one lived on a mountain top; eventually, the mountain we will return to, but the mission is not on the mountain; it’s in the valley. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will tell this mountain (means obstacle), ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
This is a powerful illustration that Jesus is making to help us understand how we can accomplish His will for us. Jesus is saying that just a little bit of faith (the size of a mustard seed) can accomplish something great (i.e., what mountain in your life is an obstacle).
Jesus probably didn’t anticipate us rearranging the planet’s topography through our faith. However, make no mistake: If Jesus wanted us to relocate the Appalachian Trail, you better believe that He’d give us the power to do it.
The point here is that if Jesus calls us to do something great, just a little bit of faith in Him can make it happen. Whether it’s casting out demons, bringing healing to the sick, sharing the Gospel with a coworker or classmate, answering the call to serve in ministry, reconciling with someone with whom we have a disagreement, confronting an addiction that you have, confronting the unrepentant sin of someone else, whatever it is if Jesus is calling you to do something, have faith in Him and watch Him do something powerful and glorious through you!
Here’s another thing: you’ve got to catch this: the power of that little bit of faith is not found in you; it’s found in Jesus!
Apart from the power of Jesus, you can’t move a mustard seed even if you have a mountain’s worth of faith in yourself. You can’t even take another breath without the sovereign power of God ruling over your life.
That is where Jesus comes to engage with people who feel far from God, and that is where Jesus has called those who follow him to labor, serve, preach, and, most importantly, love.
In closing,
One sure measure that faith/trust is at work is love, and a hard one for us MEN is humility. When present, a variety of miracles are already occurring, and the eyes of the faithful can see those miracles in you…
This morning, we heard (in the Resurrection reading) from John (21:1-14) that he is there even in our weak faith. The apostles and disciples returned to their old ways of living. However, even in failure, a new dawn and a new light came.
The image of the Lord standing on the shore as his disciples floundered speaks to us today in our own times of weakness and failure.
The Lord continues to stand on the shore of our lives even when we have not shown ourselves to be his faithful followers, even when we have failed to remain in his love.
Having called out to his disciples from the shore, the Lord then took a further, more personal step toward them. He called them to ‘Come and have breakfast.’ He invited them to share his table, as they had done many times before, as they had done at that last supper before he was crucified. He was calling them back into communion with him, the risen Lord. That same call goes out to each of us at every Eucharist. It is also the moment we are invited to renew our faithfulness or trustworthiness, committing ourselves to Him daily.
Application: Prayer is the repeated posture of dependence. It’s the discipline of acting regularly and repeatedly / depending on God. Pray in private, pray together, and pray prayers that acknowledge your dependence before God. They will build your faith. God has done the hardest thing—he died for our sins, and he has risen to give us life!
Ask God for help with the everyday things that are difficult for you. That’s why God has allowed them into your life—so that you would ask for help and, most importantly, stop trying to trust in your own strength to move mountains!
Homily delivered at St. Elias Melkite Catholic Church | We are Byzantine Rite Catholics of the Melkite Orthodox Catholic Church (steliasmelkite.org).
