Homily: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - "Increase our Faith"

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 View Readings

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9 Luke 17:5-10

When Pope Benedict XVI inaugurated the Year of Faith, he was inviting the whole Church, every Catholic to turn to the Lord and ask make the same request as the Apostles made to Our Lord in the Gospel reading today, “Lord, increase our faith!”

Here was an invitation for each of us to ask ourselves, what does it mean to believe and profess the Catholic Faith?  What difference does faith make in my life?  How can I witness to the Faith and spread that Faith in the particular circumstances of my own life?  What does it mean for me to grow in my faith?

One of the reasons Pope Benedict inaugurated the Year of Faith was because in parts of the world the light of Faith seems to be growing dim, that once again, worldly powers seek to stifle the message of faith, and that in light of so much darkness, and scandal, many Catholics face real doubt about the faith. 

The Holy Father therefore invited us, as St. Paul did in the second reading, to “stir into flame” that gift of faith, that it can once again shed light upon our own existence, upon the meaning of our life and our purpose in this world, to guide us through the darkness, and help us reach out to others who are searching for God and for meaning.

The challenges we face today are much like those of the Christians in the first and second centuries.  And it’s really amazing to think how the faith not only grew but flourished when faced with so many challenges: particularly, the official government-sponsored persecution of Christians led by the Roman Emperors.  It’s so amazing to think how a movement which began with a motley crew of nice Jewish boys led by the foster son of a carpenter, became within 300 years of that carpenters death the dominant religion in the Roman Empire. 

How did that happen?  It seems to defy logic.  What made Christianity so attractive?  What made people want to join this community with all its strange rituals and belief in resurrection?

One reason was a particular way that Christians were counter-cultural.  Tertullian a historian from the third century reported how the Romans would look at the way Christians were living and they would explain, “look at how they love one another.”  Christians were devoted to works of love—works of charity, and this was not common in the Roman Empire.

The Christians would take care of the widows, and the orphans, and the dying, and the sick, and the poor.  That may sound like ordinary human decency to us , but giving from what little you had to care for another in need, really was seen as extraordinary in the Roman Empire, and that Christians found joy in giving of themselves was really attractive.

Another reason that Christianity spread, which is rather counter-intuitive was the fact that these Christians were willing to die for their faith.

Faith that Jesus Christ rose from the dead to forgive our sins and extends the promise of everlasting life to those who believe in him and follow him led the apostles to carry that message to the ends of the earth and witness to the truth of that faith with their lives.  Martyrs like those listed in the first Eucharistic Prayer: John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias Barnabas, Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, and Anastasia—their faith, their conviction really spoke to people about the authenticity of the faith.

At the end of June, Pope Francis issued the first encyclical of his Pontificate, titled, “Lumen Fidei”- the “Light of Faith.”   He wrote, “The Church never takes faith for granted, but knows that this gift of God needs to be nourished and reinforced so that it can continue to guide her pilgrim way.”

As I read the Holy Father’s encyclical I copied my 25 favorite passages, and posted them on my blog, if you’d like a summary of the encyclical.  But I recommend, if you haven’t yet, to read through it; it’s beautiful and clear and challenging and inspiring.  Email me your favorite passage, I’d love to hear from you.

On Friday, Pope Francis visited the Italian town of Assisi, the home of his namesake and Patron, St. Francis of Assisi that great man of faith who continues to speak to us and teach us what it means to be faithful to Jesus 800 years after his death.

Pope Francis on Friday warned us of what he called “a Bakery Christianity” in which everything is beautiful and sweet like a cake.  That is not real Christianity,” Pope Francis said.  True Christianity embraces the cross, because it is the way of Christ. 

Caring for the widow, the orphan, the needy, the sick, the dying involves the cross.  Witnessing to the faith, publically, defending the faith when it is attacked, involves the cross.  Allowing the faith to shape and guide our choices, our plans for the future, our relationships, our politics, our economics, involves the cross.

We don’t become or remain Christian because the we believe that the more faithful we are God will take away our crosses.  We become and remain Christian because we believe that God will sustain us when we do have crosses, and that those crosses, when carried with love, lead to eternal life.

In one of my favorite passages from the encyclical on faith, Pope Francis wrote, “Faith is not a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp which guides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey. To those who suffer, God does not provide arguments which explain everything; rather, his response is that of an accompanying presence, a history of goodness which touches every story of suffering and opens up a ray of light. In Christ, God himself wishes to share this path with us and to offer us his gaze so that we might see the light within it. Christ is the one who, having endured suffering, is "the pioneer and perfecter of our faith" (Heb12:2).”

Faith is difficult. That is why the disciples in today’s gospel ask Jesus, “Increase our faith.”  The disciples made this request immediately after Jesus taught them that if a brother sins seven times in one day, you must forgive him seven times.  It is difficult to believe in the power of forgiveness.  It is difficult to believe how little acts of kindness can have immense impact in people’s lives.  It is difficult to believe how the cross leads to everlasting life.

But as we read in the letter to the Hebrews: “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”  We must trust God that when he calls us to forgive, that will help to bring peace and healing to an open wound.  We must trust God that the little, hidden act of love, can truly make a difference.  We must trust that the faith of the Catholic Church is worth dying for because it leads to everlasting life.

Make the lord in crease our faith and help our unbelief, that we may profess our faith with courage and conviction for the glory of God and salvation of souls.