Faith is not merely us holding on to God -- it is God holding on to us. And He will never let us go!

One night a house caught fire and a young little boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." Hearing this, the boy jumped. He jumped because he trusted his father.

Can we place ourselves in the mind and heart of this boy as his dad is telling him to jump?  What about when we face life situations of sickness, death, brokenness in relationships, and we are gripped by fear, are we able to trust in God as a loving Father in the same way as the young boy who jumped off the roof into the arms of his father?    Faith is the willingness to risk, to jump when we are not in control and to trust that we are in the hands of God.

Our faith in Jesus calls us to face life or meet death, not because we can see, but with the certainty that we are seen; not that we know all the answers, but that we are known. Faith is not merely us holding on to God -- it is God holding on to us. And He will never let us go!

God is holding onto to us in both the green pastures and the dark valleys of life.  Faith is our seeing in trust.

In the Second Reading of today, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks about two faith-filled people, Abraham and Sarah. He recalls how our early faith ancestors placed their trust in God.  Abraham and Sarah left their comfortable home and set out for an unknown land because God called them. They passed through great deserts and villages full of strangers; dwelt in temporary shelters along the way.  When God promised them that their descendents would be as numerous as the stars of the sky and the sands of the sea, they were old enough to be great-grandparents and Sarah too was sterile. Even though for so long they saw no fulfillment of the promise, they believed. They had the virtue of faith, a lasting confidence that God's Word would be fulfilled someday.

And when God finally granted them a son, He asked Abraham to sacrifice him and still continue to believe, to trust, and to hope that the promise would still somehow be accomplished.  Abraham, faithfully listening to the Word of God, 'hoped against hope' that his son would be restored to him, even as he was willing to sacrifice him. It is shocking  to think that somebody was willing to sacrifice his own son to God. Essentially, Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son is an act of trust, of faith, in which he was proved right. We consider Abraham our father in faith, and he is a model for our own times – he took great risks; he had no agenda other than his faithful obedience to the God in whom he trusted completely.

The gift of faith was life changing for Abraham.  He relied completely on the steady reality of God’s loving kindness.  On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your trust in God in your challenging life situations as did Abraham?

Trust is difficult for us today, is it not?  Relying on someone else involves a risk, and we have been disappointed so often.

In the world that we live in which that are deadly random shootings of innocent people as in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, in a political world in which decency and civil dialogue is hard to come by, in our society in which too many relationships have been broken,  is there any room left for trust?  In our Church, is trust the defining characteristic of who we are as the disciples of Jesus or is the lack of trust more of a reality in our Church today? 

In our St. Joseph’s School Advisory Board meeting last Monday evening, we were asking the question whether the fact that we are a faith-based school makes for a marketing plus or a marketing minus.

This leads us to ask the question:  Do you see yourself as a person of faith and what does that mean for you?

As a person of faith, does it mean that you practice considerable spiritual disciplines?  Does is mean that you are a very moral person?  Does it mean that you keep all the rules and the commandments?  What does it mean?

First and foremost, a person of faith is a person of trust.  That young boy on the roof of the house  risked jumping – trusting that his dad will keep him safe.  The boy had faith in his dad.  Our faith question is do we have that same kind of faith and trust in Jesus in the frightening circumstances of our lives.  For Abraham and Sarah in the second Scripture reading today, their faith was life changing – such was their trust in God’s loving kindness.

While all of us need to humbly say:  “Be patient.  God isn’t finished with me yet.”  Does our faith lead us to risk and trust that Jesus goes with us in all circumstances of life?

Without faith, we live in a very scary world.  As a person of faith, our future is full of hope no matter what circumstances in life we are facing.  We are always surrounded and lifted up by a loving God.  This is not too good to be true.  This is the truth of our lives.  This is the meaning of our faith.

For me, the jewel of St. Joseph’s Church and St. Joseph’s School is we are a people of faith.  Jesus is the North Star of our lives.  The sun rises each morning in the heart of one who trusts in Jesus.  For me, no matter what the tuition of our school is, you cannot put a price on our children being fashioned after the mind and heart of Jesus.

In the big scheme of things, at the end of the day, what are we waiting for?  What is your hope for the future?  What is your ideal retirement?  Would it be wealth or power or pleasure? 

Jesus warns us that material possessions can capture our heart, not allowing us to be free to follow him.  Jesus challenges us to reveal what it is we truly value --  may we truly value loving and being loved.  In faith, we are loved by Jesus completely and unconditionally.  May we find the fulfillment we are looking for in the ways we love and serve one another.

Have a blessed day.