Deacon Tom Anthony

 

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 117

Reading 1 Wis 18:6-9

The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,
 that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,
 they might have courage.
 Your people awaited the salvation of the just
 and the destruction of their foes.
 For when you punished our adversaries,
 in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.
 For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice
 and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22

R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.B
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
 praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
 the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
 upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
 and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
 who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
 who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Reading 2 Heb 11:1-2, 8-19

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

All these died in faith.
They did not receive what had been promised
but saw it and greeted it from afar
and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,
for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,
they would have had opportunity to return.
But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.
Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said,
“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,
and he received Isaac back as a symbol.

Or Heb 11:1-2, 8-12

Brothers and sisters:
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for
and evidence of things not seen.
Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance;
he went out, not knowing where he was to go.
By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,
dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;
for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,
whose architect and maker is God.
By faith he received power to generate,
even though he was past the normal age
—and Sarah herself was sterile—
for he thought that the one who had made the promise was
trustworthy.
 So it was that there came forth from one man,
himself as good as dead,
descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

Alleluia Mt 24;42a, 44

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake and be ready!
For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 12:32-48

Jesus said 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.

“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.  
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.
Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,
the Son of Man will come.”

Then Peter said,
“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”
And the Lord replied,
“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
‘My master is delayed in coming,’
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant’s master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master’s will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

                                                   

 

 

My Brothers and Sisters,

 Faith is the belief in that which is unseen. With that definition, do we have faith because we have not seen God or do we have faith because there is no other word to describe what we have? Yes, no one except Moses and Jesus have seen God face to face but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been witness to what God has done or have not been witness to the Mystical Side of the Church which encompasses that which is beyond the physical boundaries of the world. Examining our prayer life and spiritual experiences can bring about many examples of us being witness to that which remains invisible to others but has been revealed to us personally in an intimate or public setting and has been something that has reinforced our faith. These things and these interactions are things that God allows to happen so that we can be encouraged about those things that remain invisible, which includes Himself. These events, when they occur, are put front and center in our life but can then fade as time goes on and we are once again focused on that which is physical. It is then that the word faith takes on the meaning that it has but it does not always stand alone in our lives. We have always received validation and will continue to do so when it is necessary.

God never wants us to feel alone or apart from Him. When this occurs He will inevitably attempt to draw us closer to Him. We just need to be ready and accepting of Him when He does. The best way to do this is through a consistent prayer-life and an attention to our relationship with Him. The Church has provided a method to deepen our relationship with God and to understand Him more fully. The structure includes prayer, worship, reading Sacred Scripture and the understanding of what is read through our implementation of the teachings of the Church. The more we find ourselves acting out our relationship with God in this fashion then the more open we will become to Him. The word religion comes from the Latin words that mean obligation, reverence, and to bind. Through these words an understanding can develop that what is being described is a relationship. It is through our religion and the practice thereof that we deepen our relationship with God. It is the key to becoming closer to Him; an instruction manual set forth by Him to learn more about Him and His entire creation. This is the very reason why Jesus established the Church so as to draw all closer to Him and through Him closer to God. The very act of acting on these instructions and obligations opens us up to loving Him who created us.

The Scripture Reading from the Book of Wisdom today tells how the night of the passover was known to the people of that time so as to strengthen their faith and relationship with God. In much the same way we are given the Eucharist to give us that same encouragement along with an experience of uniting ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually with Jesus. With these things comes instruction and ritual so that our experience becomes deeper and more meaningful. As Catholics it is important to center our lives in the Eucharist and from there structure all of our experiences around it. When we receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ it is truly impossible, in that moment, to turn away from God and sin. With that understanding we should challenge ourselves to take that state of being and expand it through every moment in our lives.

In the Letter to the Hebrews today we are told that faith can be further described as the realization of the unseen. In other words that which is unseen, God, can be seen through visible signs and occurrences in our lives if we are just open to seeing them. We are the ones who tend to get in our own way of experiencing these things by ignoring our relationship with Him or prioritizing other things above Him. We as Christians are challenged to reprioritize our lives around our relationship with God then we will be able to witness and experience more things that will reveal His presence to us. When we believe then we receive because we are in right relationship with Him. This receiving does not come in the form of a reward but it has always been there for the taking but we just refused to take it because we didn’t notice it.

Noticing things and being prepared for that which is to come in the future is what we need to focus on. When we are prepared then we are able to overcome all challenges including death itself and are able to experience the good things that life has to offer more readily. We are benefactors of all that is good by recognizing what is good and being open to receiving it. God is always waiting. He is patient. He is loving. He wants to give us everything and the only thing we have to do is be ready and willing to receive it.

 

Deacon Tom