Doctrine & Faith;19th Sunday year C

As you participate in today’s Eucharistic celebration, may you be granted the grace of faith, that will enable you respond to God’s presence in your life, knowing that it is within His presence that you live. Happy Sunday +John I. Okoye.

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Wisdom 18,6-9; Hebrews 11,1-2.8-19; Luke 12,32-48, 19th Sunday Year C, 2019)

This reading from the book of Wisdom, Wisdom 18:6-9, is an interpretation of the account of the deliverance of the chosen people at the time of their bondage in Egypt, specifically the events of the night of their Passover night. While the passage suggests that the speaker is addressing God, the author employs a Greek literary form known as the syncrisis, a kind of comparison that points out the contrast between the plight of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians. This form is astutely used to show that God reversed the very means the Egyptians had employed in hopes of afflicting the Israelites. Thus the Egyptians were smitten, while the Israelites escaped unscathed. The focus in this account is on the providence of God in sparing the people of Israel. The author boldly moves beyond the simple comparison of the syncrisis and claims that God reversed the fates of the two peoples and that the very means with which God punished the Egyptians in turn glorified the Israelites. At the very time when the angel of God was moving through Egypt killing the firstborn of every household, the Israelites were offering a lamb in substitutionary sacrifice. The blood of this lamb became their protection against the bloodletting suffered by the Egyptians.

The first verse of the second  reading, Hebrews 11,1-2,8-19: Only faith can guarantee the blessing that we hope for or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen is one of the best-known passages from Scripture. It demonstrates the author's position that faith is more an openness of mind and heart than a set of theological propositions. The author uses the tradition about the faith of Abraham to illustrate what he means. The story of Abraham's faith begins with his call from God to leave his father’s home and go to a land God would show him, a land he would receive as one receives an inheritance. He left the familiarity of one land for the uncertainty of another, and all because of his faith in God. At the time of the conception of Isaac, Abraham's faith became apparent again. Both he and Sarah were beyond their childbearing years, yet he believed the impossible was possible with God. Abraham was told he would have not only one heir but heirs beyond counting (cf. Gen 15,5; 22,17). God promised that this man, whose generative powers were as good as dead, would produce numerous descendants. Abraham's faith was rooted not so much in God's power as in the promise God had made, and because of this faith he received generative powers. Finally, Abraham's faith was manifested in his willingness to respond to God's further testing of his utter trust by sacrificing his only son, Isaac. The foreseeable consequences of his conformity to this testing are shattering. Isaac is the child through whom descendants will continue. To sacrifice him is to nullify God's initial promise and to forfeit his (Abraham's) future and the future of his household. Just as his faith led him to leave the blessings of his past (v. 8), so his faith leads him to relinquish the possibilities of his future. Even though Isaac was not actually sacrificed, the text says that Abraham did indeed offer up his son. Once again, his faith is based on God's ability to bring life where there is no life. Could not God, who brought life through a man who was as good as dead, raise someone who was really dead? Believing that God could bring about the first marvel enabled Abraham to believe that God could also accomplish the second.

The gospel reading, Luke 12,32-48, is a discourse intended for the disciples. It can be divided into three parts: a teaching on possessions (vv. 32-34); a story that demonstrates the importance of watchfulness (vv. 35-40); and instruction about responsible leadership (vv. 41-48). In his address to his disciples whom he regards as his flock, Jesus announces that the reign of God is theirs; he then exhorts them to live lives that demonstrate their citizenship in that realm. With one admonition, Sell your possessions and give alms…he exemplifies the kind of total commitment required of citizens of the reign of God. The admonition itself sounds radical. It was probably not intended to be taken literally, for total divestment would have turned the disciples into paupers, making them dependent on others for survival and sustenance. Jesus does not denounce material possessions as such but only the amassing of such goods. He knows that trust in riches can stand in the way of trust in God, so he tells his disciples to get rid of what they do not immediately need and to concentrate their energies on the things of God. Jesus introduces his teaching about watchfulness with a twofold admonition. He tells the men to tuck their flowing robes under their belts and to prepare for strenuous activity and then to light their lamps, suggesting they will have to be watchful even into the night. He is not explicit about the reason for this; he merely instructs them to be prepared, like servants awaiting the return of the householder. In response to Peter's query, Jesus tells a second story that describes not only the watchfulness required of disciples but also the way leaders or man­agers of the household (oikonomos) are to carry out their responsibilities while the master is away. The first manager is conscientious in the care of others, while the second is not only remiss in carrying out the duties of stewardship but actually abusive and self-indulgent. Other servants are chastised not because of what they did but because of what they failed to do. Preparedness does not mean simply waiting. One must be responsible during that waiting period.

Vigilance is a recurrent theme during the season of Advent. This theme comes strongly in our liturgy today to remind us that we must be vigilant always, not simply at the beginning and the end of the Liturgical Year. We must always stand ready for the return of the Lord, for we really do not know when he is coming. This is true about waiting for the end of time as well as for the end of our specific time. However, it is also true about other times, for we do not know when God will open the door or window of our existence and call us into a deeper realisation of the sacred dimension of life itself. Vigilance is a characteristic of a Christian at all times, for all times. We must be ever vigilant so we can recognise the Lord in the people with whom we live and work. We must be ever vigilant so we can recognise the advent of the Lord in the world events of which we are a part. We must be always ready to respond to the call of discipleship, to serve where there is need, to carry out our life responsibilities in a fair and equitable fashion. We cannot be sure of the hour of our calling, because in a sense, every hour is the hour of our calling. Therefore, we must be ever vigilant. Vigilance demands that we live lives of faith. While we live in the expectation of the full and ultimate coming of God in the future, we also live now in the presence of God. This means that God is present with us now as a companion in our lives. It also means that it is within God's presence that we live; in fact, God's presence is the context within which our lives unfold. However, until all things are brought to fulfilment we live in this presence by faith. At the time of the Passover the people put their faith in the promises God had made to them, and they were saved by means of that faith. Throughout his life Abraham lived by faith, clinging tenaciously to it despite what appeared to be impossible odds. Faith is the way we live when we do not see what we think we must see in order to go on. It is through faith that we cling to the essence of our dreams when they seem to be dashed before our eyes. It is through faith that we launch out into new vistas when we are invited into the lives of others. It is through faith that we courageously endure the heartbreaks of life and the diminishment we all must face. It is faith that is the inner light that enables us to carryon in the dark. Faith and hope are intimately joined. As believers we are called to trust in the promises of God, even when what is promised seems impossible. Faith is the way we live our lives before these promises unfold. We are promised a life of peace and harmony. As people of faith we are called to live in this world of hatred and violence as if that promise had already been fulfilled, for it is through our living in that faith that it is indeed brought to birth. A life lived in faith is its own revenue, its own reward. We are assured that we will be blessed, but we can never be sure of the exact nature of the blessing. The Israelites were freed from bondage only to find themselves in the wilderness facing yet another test of faith. Abraham offered his son, not knowing the ultimate sacrifice would not be required. Had he been assured that Isaac would be saved, it would not have been a question of faith. A life of faith can guarantee only one thing, that we will be able to live by faith. In faith, we put our trust in God and then carry out our responsibilities. In faith we wait for the Lord, who is our help and our shield, not really knowing under what guise he will come to us. Faith is both the cost of living as a disciple and the reward. May we be granted in today’s liturgy the grace of faith that will enable us respond positively to God’s presence in our lives. Happy Sunday! +John I. Okoye