The
Gospel we hear today is part of the Gospel that is proclaimed when we have the
sacrament of the anointing of the sick, so for me as a priest, it is a Gospel
that I have proclaimed many dozens of times. There
is a tension in the Gospel in what the wise and the learned have learned versus
what is contained in the hearts of the children. That
is a real tension in our lives of faith as well: responding out of our minds,
our knowledge and our intellect versus responding out of our compassion, joy,
and enthusiasm that we have in our hearts. There
is a time for both, and we must temper the balance between these two sides of
our faith. Learning
to open ourselves to new aspects of our faith is important to the way our faith
grows and develops. It is
the same with our youth and children. It
is good for them to do all the fun activities we offer at our Church, but it is
also important for them to go to religious education classes and to study and
learn about our faith in a serious, disciplined manner as well. Yet,
for our that knowledge and intellectual growth in our faith, if we lack joy or
compassion or enthusiasm, then what type of faith do we truly have?
Our
Gospel today is complimented by our psalm refrain: “The Lord does
not abandon his people.” But
are we truly God’s people if we cannot commit to our faith? Are
we willing to take responsibility for our faith or willing to make sacrifices? Or do
we just cry out to God when we need his help? I am
sure the people of Israel felt abandoned at times. In our modern era, many of us struggle with
seeing God in the reality of our own lives as well. God
is not always comforting. He also
challenges us and confronts us and holds us accountable. Are
we willing to understand that about God?
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