7/8/2012 – Sunday of 14th week of ordinary time – Mark 6:1-6, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

              The message in the Gospel that we hear today brought to my mind the Gospel that we heard last week, when we heard in the Gospel of Matthew of two people of great faith who approached Jesus for healing.  There was a lady who was suffering from hemorrhages for 12 years, who had so much faith in Jesus that she knew that just by touching his cloak that his power to heal could be passed on to her.  Then we had Jairus, a synagogue official, who wanted Jesus to heal his daughter.  Jesus told both of these individuals that out of their great faith, healing was able to come into their lives.  These examples of great faith stuck in my memory from last Sunday, especially as today we here about Jesus going back to his native town.  Rather than Jesus being appreciated by those who know him, the people question his authority and do not believe what they see before their eyes.  Jesus ends today’s Gospel passage by bemoaning the lack of faith that he had witnessed in the people. 

         On the first week on the pilgrimage trail to Santiago de Compostela, we spent the night in a town named Estella.  I was sitting in the dining room with a bunch of other pilgrims taking a break after a long day of hiking, writing in my journal and meditating on the readings from the mass for the day.  I saw an elderly lady sitting across the table from me.  I noticed that she had some holy cards and a small photo of the Virgin Mary in front of her.  She was speaking Spanish with everyone, so I assumed she was from Spain.  I decided to give her one of the rosaries I had with me, which initiated a several hour conversation with her and husband who joined us.  They were actually from a small town near Tuscan, Arizona.  They told me about the different reasons why they were walking the pilgrimage trail here in Spain – a family member who had cancer, nieces and nephews who were struggling with drug addictions, and their devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.  After our conversation, I saw the husband help his wife up the stairs of the hostel where we were staying.  I thought about the great faith that led this elderly couple to walk 500 miles across the country of Spain.  They could have thought of a million excuses as to why this pilgrimage would be too arduous or treacherous for them, but their faith inspired them to embark on this pilgrimage journey. 

         Our faith starts with a grace from God, a gift from God.  Faith is not something we can completely initiate for ourselves.  But, it is not truly faith if we hide it under a bushel basket or conserve it for safekeeping, if we refuse to use our faith or take any risks with it.  There is a traditional Catholic prayer called a “Suscipe,” which comes from the Latin word “to receive.”  St Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, wrote this prayer called the Suscipe of St Ignatius back in the 16^th century: “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my entire will. All I have and call my own, you have given to me; to you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.”  We receive so much from God – we receive our faith from God.  But unless we give that faith back to God – unless we ask God to receive that faith back from us – unless we put that faith in service for the Lord – then is it really faith?

         When Paul was preaching to the people in the various Gentile cities of the ancient world, he was competing against those who claimed to have superior power and knowledge.  Corinth had grand temple built in the honor of pagan gods; it was a center of economic and political power; the city of Corinth hosted a great athletic competition called the Isthmian games every two years.  Paul might have wanted to boast about his knowledge of and relationship with Christ, of the power and authority he had in the Church.  Yet, instead Paul is able to say that he would rather boast of his weaknesses, because that it what allows the power of Christ to live within him.  Indeed, in the waters of baptism we rise with Christ and receive a new life through him.  We live in the reality of Christ’s death and resurrection each day on our journey through life as his followers.  If we truly allow Christ to live in us, if we allow ourselves to have faith in him and truly allow that faith to live and drive our lives, then we will leave a trail of the message of Christ’s death and resurrection whenever we go in live.  In our faith, in the life we have in Christ, in the power of Christ that shines through all of our flaws and weaknesses, we will have life beyond our own capabilities.  Our faith will touch lives that we will never realize, and it will go places that we have never been ourselves.  Our faith will have a life of its own.  Yet, unless we allow ourselves to surrender to Christ and to be united with him, then and only then will we become the follower of Christ that Jesus wants us to become.