HAVE FAITH

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 4^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Have Faith.”

This will be a simple, basic - a not too complicated homily - a message we need to hear on a regular basis - like, “Keep trying.” “Keep praying.” “Keep forgiving.” “Love one another.”

So a short homily on, “Have Faith.”

TODAY’S FIRST READING

Today’s first reading continues with the Letter to the  Hebrews. The author of Hebrews in chapter 11: 32-40 begins with a list of various people who did a lot by faith. They had to go through  a lot of struggle, pain, suffering, being tormented and hunted. Yet they kept going because they had faith.

So the obvious homily message: Have Faith.

It’s a theme all through the Letter to the Hebrews.

And I would add: if we read through the pages of our life, we’ll find that we have had faith all through our life. It has been a stream, a river, an ocean at times. Maybe there were periods of drought - but we came back to the faith - and kept going.

MY CLASSMATE LARRY

Every time I hear the word “faith” - it triggers something my classmate Larry said way back in 1966. I find it interesting on what we remember. We’ve had 100 or so good conversations through the years - but his comment on faith stands out.

We’re talking and he says, “Oh my God, I just realized that I just finished my first year of preaching and every sermon had the same message: “Have Faith!” Then he added the further comment: “I guess I was preaching to myself.”

I’m slower. I still don’t know in the year 2013 what the main theme that I preach is. Maybe I should ask others.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

We have to have faith to deal with our demons, our struggles, our chains.

We need to have faith to ask Jesus to enter into our life and not leave us. The man in the gospel knows who Jesus is. In fact, it seems to me that only when we know we need help - do we discover help is possible.

The man in the gospel who kept gashing and bashing himself with his sins - the rocks of his mistakes - moves from telling Jesus not to meddle with him - to ask Jesus to send his demons into the pigs and let them go jump in the lake.

Sickness and sin bring more people to God - than jogging, ham and cheese sandwiches, and ice cream cones.

CONCLUSION: FAITH IS A LEAP

The title of my homily is, “Have Faith.”

This mantra, this slogan, is good to bring to prayer - so that when we come to a crisis - we will ask Jesus for help - that we will have faith in that crisis.

There are many definitions of what faith is.

Faith to me - is a leap - when in a crisis - or at a crossroads.

The image I like best is to call faith a leap - a jump - over some dangerous obstacle that is before us.

We have all had the experience of coming to the end of a street. We’re standing there at the curb. When all is well, it’s easy - to look both ways and to step down and cross the street. But sometimes there is ice and slush - and then some black ice in the street at the corner curb. We want to jump, leap a bit over the snow and the ice - but we know it’s slippery. Will we make it? Will there be firm footing on the other side. And ooops, I forgot to mention it’s dark and we can’t see the other side.

But we have faith and we make the leap - trusting that God is there on the other side of our jump.

Understand that understanding of faith and you get Paul Tillich's description of God as the Ground of Our Being. Amen.