INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Monday in the Fourth Week of
Lent is, “Faith and Signs.”
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings - like so many readings in the Bible -
bring up the question of “Faith and Signs”.
In the first reading from Isaiah 65: 17-21 we have a great promise - the day is coming
when there will be no more crying - no more tears. Babies won’t die and old
people will make it to 100 years of age at least.
Did you smile - did you laugh - when you heard Isaiah say,
“He
dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.”?
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.”?
And in today’s gospel - John 4: 43-54 - we have the 2nd of the 7 signs in
the Gospel of John about Jesus. # 1 Cana, #2 The Healing of the Royal
Official’s Son, # 3 The Healing of the man paralyzed for 38 years at the Pool
of Bathsaida, #4 The Feeding of the 5,000, # 5 The Healing of the Blind Man in
Jerusalem, # 6, The Raising of Lazarus, and # 7 The Resurrection of Jesus from
the Dead.
With paradoxical humor today’s second sign - the Healing of
the Royal Official’s Son - begins with Jesus saying, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe.”
US
What is our faith built upon - signs and wonders - or faith
and wonderings?
Last week I was with 60 some teen agers on a Kairos Retreat.
I noticed from time to time kids as well as the adults
brought up signs - personal signs - that helped their faith - helped their
belief.
That brought up to me faith and wonderings. If we try to
convince people to have faith based on miracles or signs - if they don’t get any,
will they then reject faith?
I’ve took a piece of paper and tried to figure out how many
times I’ve received communion in my life since my First Communion. My
guesstimate is 21,000. Only 2 times in all those receptions of communion - did
I get a sign - and they might have been mere coincidence - mere subjectivity -
what have you.
The first time was in our seminary and there was this guy I didn’t get along with - and we were the last 2 receiving communion at one Mass and the priest had one host left for 2 guys. So instead of going to the tabernacle for one host, he broke the one he had and gave each of us half. That was a message communion. Be in communion with each other. Accident. Coincidence. Of course. But then …. afterwards thinking about it - we began to become friends - by being friendlier to each other.
The second time was in upstate New York in a parish mission. I was giving
out communion and I began to notice hands: rough powerful hands - maybe a auto
mechanic; the wrinkled hands of an old lady with a walker; a teenage girl with
a ball point penned name of a boy on the palm of her hand; and a girl who had
just the palm of her hands - with tiny, tiny skin beads where fingers should
be. It hit me rather strongly that Jesus reaches out to everyone to feed.
I also remember a moment during Eucharistic adoration in our
retreat house chapel at Tobyhanna ,
Pennsylvania Mass. I had put Jesus in the Bread in the
Monstrance - and put it on the altar. The practice there for was everyone clear
out of the chapel - except one person who knelt in front of Jesus in the
Blessed Sacrament. They would pray for 22 or 25 or 32 minutes all through the
night depending on the number of people on retreat. The lights in the chapel were
made very low - mainly from candles on the altar. Well, I finally finished my
task in the sacristy and walked out into the sanctuary - to head towards the door in the back of the out
of that chapel. Surprise. I tripped over a body on the floor in the semi-darkness.
I was younger and caught myself on a bench. I didn’t know who the person on the
floor was, but he did say, “I’m sorry.” I said, “Okay, no problem.”
The next day a guy said to me, “Sorry, I might have hurt you
last night.” I said, “No problem.” But I asked him, “What were you doing on the
floor.” Len, this enormous guy, a plumber, says to me, “That’s how I pray in
front of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And, it’s a long story. We were digging
this big ditch and my son was down in a hole. We should have used a caisson. My
mistake. Well the sides caved in on him. He was buried and everyone was
screaming. I said a prayer to Jesus and to save my son. I grabbed a shovel and dug
furiously. Finally the shovel hits his
head and I saved my son. Well from every moment after that Jesus has been
present to me - especially in the Eucharist. He saved my son! Why wouldn’t I
fall down on the ground every chance I get and adore him.”
If we look back on our life, I think we all have those kinds
of signs - subjective signs - surprise signs - much more than so called
“miracles’.
CONCLUSION
What is your faith build upon?
If it’s just the signs you want, what do you do if you don’t
get them?
If you get surprise signs, take them, but build your faith
on faith in Jesus Christ - and start shoveling.
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