Just a Touch of Faith Away

The readings for the 13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time talk about faith, love, death, restoring, bringing back, touch, touching. When I read the Gospel, I stopped and focused on touch. Jesus who was followed by a large crowd encounters one of the synagogue leaders, Jairus, who fell at his feet and begged Him to, “Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live.” We hear how the girl is at the point of death.

As this was going on, a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years and had exhausted all her money and time in trying to find a cure only to see her condition worsen, somehow made her way through the crowd with the intention to get close enough to touch Jesus’ cloak for she too thought (had faith) that this would make her well.

So with these two scenarios in mind I started to think about a 1981 AT&T commercial whose catchy slogan was, “Reach out and touch someone.” Well the someone here is not just anybody but Jesus Christ.

In Jesus’ time that woman was prohibited by Jewish law from participating in communal prayer – her condition violated the blood taboo which made all who came in contact with the unclean woman in need of purification. By touching Jesus, she renders him impure.

The second taboo was the death taboo: touch a dead body and you are also deemed impure and you will have to undergo ritual purification in order to participate in the community life.

These two people had tremendous faith in the Lord and those touches transformed their world – the woman was healed and the girl was raised to life -  restored to the family table.

Touch, faith, healing, restoring, wiping away of tears happens each day. The following scene must be repeated hundreds of thousands of time worldwide each day. A little tot falls skins their knee, it hurts and they go running to a parent’s arms crying. Upon reaching the parent or a loved one they are often taken in their arms or put on their lap and asked where it hurts – many will repeat,  “here I will kiss the boo-boo and make it better.” Most times the crying ceases. The little child knows who will make things better just but touching. Many times the parent will give the child a drink or a little treat as Jesus did after the girl began to walk telling the parents to give her something to eat.

As we get older we become self sufficient, we feel like we can take care of ourselves and often even in the most trying times rely on the substitutes that the world offers instead of reaching out for a touch of God. Even when you do you’ll have people questioning your motives, even trying to dissuade you from reaching out to Him almost as if they are telling you that you are dead - there is no hope – why even bother.

Sometimes we have faith but we sit back and wait. Jairus and the woman had faith but they took it a step further, they took action. They didn’t worry about a law, didn’t worry nor take that erroneous advice of others but reached out and touched the one who could meet their need.

Is there some desperate need that you have? Jesus is willing to meet your need. You need to have faith in Him just as the two people in the Gospel.

Faith has been defined as “knowing Jesus well enough to trust Him.” Then you must add action to your faith. Reach out and touch the One who can meet all your needs.

You’re just a touch of faith away from Him. As today’s Psalm (30) says,

“He will turn your mourning into dancing.

O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.”

Faith

Make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love." (2 Peter 1:5-7)

St. Peter in his short 2nd letter reminds us how God has given us everything needed for life and godliness. For all who say they have faith use St. Peter's checklist above to see how well you support and nourish your faith life. Taking these steps of goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness and mutual affection leads us to the landing of the most important one and that is love.

They were wrong when they said, "All roads lead to Rome," for all roads lead to love.

Looking for God in All the Wrong Places

The song title, “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places,” reminds me of how often I’ve looked for God in all the wrong places. Today’s Good News reveals how even when Jesus is in our midst we tend to not recognize him. The people of Nazareth couldn’t accept the fact that someone like the Messiah could come from among them – they looked at Jesus as a mere carpenter and nothing else.

God manifests himself in humility, obedience and even weakness. It was St. Paul who said that in our weakness is when we are strong. God is found when we obey and have faith in what He is telling us. How strong is your faith? Do you tend to give up on Him when your prayers (in your mind) seem to go unanswered? How do you know that they have not been answered? Maybe not getting what you prayed for is the answer. This is generally proven to ourselves much later.

Could it be that the answer has been given to you by one of God’s angels and you have brushed it off thinking (in your mind) that this person couldn’t be right. Isn’t that what Naaman did when Elisha sent a messenger in his place. Just because the answer given did not come directly from Elisha, Naaman chose not to believe it; as a matter of fact he became angry and went away.

Sometimes our thinking takes us to places so far away from God that we get discouraged. You’re not alone. St. Augustine said that, “He was searching for God outside of him, but He was inside.”

Faith Gives Sight

“Have sight; your faith has saved you.”

These are the words Jesus says to the blind man who was persistent in his prayer, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.” “Lord, please let me see,” is his request once he’s brought to Jesus

Sight is the ability to see.

How do you see God?

Through faith, which is defined as belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof, one has a better vision of God. Faith is confidence, trust, reliance, conviction, belief and assurance.

The blind beggar does not let the scolding of all that pass him by put a dent into his faith. He continues to cry out to the Lord knowing that He is the one that can bring him out of the dark and into the light. He has the faith, which Rabindranath Tagore says, “is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark.”

“Faith is like radar that sees through the fog. “~Corrie Ten Boom

“In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.” ~Blaise Pascal

“Let us ask for the light which we can see with angels alone, light without beginning or end. The way to this light is faith. Hence Jesus immediately says to the blind man who is to be enlightened: Look up, your faith has saved you. “ St. Gregory the Great.

A Mustard Seed?.....really?

Today in Luke 13:18-21, I read;

Then he said, "What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'"

Of all the things that come to mind when I envision the kingdom of God, I would never think of comparing it to a mustard seed. At first I was trying to picture what a mustard seed looks like and forgot that in my spice rack I have a little container of mustard seeds which I have probably used once or twice in a recipe (link to recipe below). Even after having remembered what it looks like and tastes like, I would never compare it to the kingdom of God - but who am I to know what the kingdom of God is like?

If we have never seen God how can we fathom what the kingdom of God is like? It is through faith that we love God and in hope that we will attain this kingdom but a mustard seed does nothing to  strengthen my faith.

It is St. Ambrose, one of the doctors of the church, who helps me understand what is meant by this comparison.  "Another passage that refers to a mustard seed comes to mind where it is compared to faith, when the Lord says: «If you had faith like a mustard seed you would say to this mountain: «Cast yourself into the sea» ((cf. Mt 17,20; Mk 11,23)... So if the Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed and faith is like a mustard seed, then it goes without saying that faith is the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of heaven is faith. To possess faith is to possess the Kingdom... That is why Peter, whose faith was genuine, was given the keys of the Kingdom of heaven that he might likewise open it up to others (Mt 16,19)."

Henry David Thoreau said, "The smallest seed of faith is better than the largest fruit of happiness"

I guess I was envisioning this large fruit of happiness as the kingdom of God which has it's birth in the smallest seed of faith.

Jesus said,"Verily I say unto you, none will be saved unless they believe in my cross. But those who have believed in my cross, theirs is the kingdom of God."

Lord, guide my feet so that the smallest steps I take will all be for your glory.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mustard-seed-chive-vinaigrette-10000001714576/