(BAR 4:5-12, 27-29; PS 69:33-35, 36-37; LK 10:17-24)
It’s interesting. This world we live in today. Where we preach that faith in ourselves and how we perceive ourselves is of the utmost importance, yet we allow the forces of everything beyond our fingertips to impact our personality, our spirit, and our confidence. So often do we see it, especially in the age of impressionability, the advances of society to be the sole provider of perception leading to a development of beliefs and lifestyle consistent to that which society intended. At my age, I have seen it happen so often to so many people I care about.
The other day I was looking through my friend list and reminiscing on my history with a few important people that I am not as close to anymore. I remember being one with them in Christ. I remember spending weekends at church retreats, praising the Lord, and growing in Christ. I remember exchanging letters of hope and love for our friendships and of God. Somewhere down the line, everything changed. In times of change, you find that you become ignorant to the change because you don’t want to feel the impact of it. Down the line, you wake up, and your life is completely different. The people who meant everything to you are on the far side of the horizon, living completely different lives.
The first reading today talks about the children of God, who were “handed over to their foes” because they angered God. Those who take this reading literally will see God as spiteful, when the true lesson is that of strength, resistance, faith, and forgiveness. The past few years so many things have happened in our world. War, Hate, and Ignorance ruling over the majority. Where war and hate exist in our everyday lives, so do we realize that our own demons fight a war with our humanity everyday. We see the slippery slope of powerful people bringing perceptions of hate and ignorance into the world, we see the idea of equality becoming more like living in constant disappointment and hate rather than in constant understanding and love, we see the transcendence of humanity moving towards complete separation as opposed to unification.
The reading preaches the importance of sticking together, it preaches the strength we have when we are one, as opposed to when we are fighting with each other. I have experienced the fight first hand. I have seen my brothers and sisters in Christ turn away completely, I have seen people I love value the societal norms over tradition, and ignorance over understanding. I have seen war become normal, and love to become a needle in a haystack. I have seen how powerful one person can be when they stand with their faith, I have also experienced the pain of standing with my faith and still not having the power to bring someone back.
Here’s the main thing I want to emphasize. So often we hear from our brothers and sisters that turn away from the Catholic faith that they are seeing what is really going on in the world, and not blinded by “Catholic tradition” or “Catholic teaching”. I have heard dear friends tell me that there are too many unknowns, that investing in a faith so antiquated disallows them from experiencing everything this world has to offer. They have lost sight of the truth. Because the truth is that, it is not strength that pulls them away from God, but rather curiosity. The truest strength is in maintaining our faith in a world of hostility and mixed perceptions, it is in turning to God as opposed to that which brings us instant gratification, it is in finding comfort in the church as opposed to the affirmation of others. As mentioned in the reading:
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy.
The most real strength is not only in staying, but in coming back.
