Dear friends, in today’s readings for Holy Mass, we are reminded of the importance of truly trusting in the Lord, as opposed to building our faith and trust in the ways and things of the world.
In the first reading for example, from the prophet Isaiah, we are told that nations that trust in God, will be kept in peace. So, before we look at how we individually need to trust in God, we can also ask, based on today’s readings; what does it mean for a nation to trust in God? In the United States we have the solemn declaration on money of all things that “In God We Trust.” But is this indeed the case? Does the United States trust in God if the continued slaughter of the unborn is permitted in it’s many forms and if so many other things are committed as a nation which go contrary to God’s will, like racism, child
trafficking, the pornography industry, and the atheistic attacks on the freedom of religion? Is such a nation truly trusting in God? Talk is cheap. So too in Canada, we sing our trust to the Lord in the national anthem; “God keep our land, glorious and free.” Yet, are we truly free when we continue to commit the same sins as our neighbour to the south? We will never be free, and never truly able to trust God, if we continue to commit sin in his sight. Hence our trust in him needs to be based on a reciprocal, mature, reverent, obedient and humble relationship which strives to do better.
We can trust God, because he always pulls through for us. Can he trust us in the same way? Think of a married couple, where the man asks his woman to trust him and gets upset if somehow his wife questions his fidelity. She feels very threatened and insecure because she has noticed that her husband has a problem with pornography. She hasn’t seen or caught him with another woman, but his propensity for impure videos is causing her alarm. Can she trust him freely and wholeheartedly? Not really, because if he’s too weak to resist an image on a screen, what will his resistance be like if a real, beautiful woman tempted him? We can trust God, because he doesn’t give us indications or red flags that impede us from doing so. When it comes to human beings, things are different. But whether it be trusting in God or building trust among ourselves, it is safe to say that trust is earned, not merely given.
Now sometimes, God asks of us things that can make us buckle and hesitate. This is because he knows things we cannot possibly know and sees beyond our limited human vision and mind, but he asks us to trust. He doesn’t expect us to know everything. He just asks us to trust. It’s like the cyclist who pedaling away perilously close to the edge of a cliff, hits a rock, loses control and is hurled over the cliff only to reach out his hand and manage to grab on to a shrub which has naturally sprouted from the rock. He can’t possibly look down as he’s terrified and when he prays, he hears God’s voice say to him, “Let go of the branch.” It’s too difficult for him to trust God, and so he asks, “Is there anybody else out there?” Obviously, this is a joke, but it ends on quite a somber note, because we’re told that had he let go of the branch he would have discovered that just a couple of feet beneath him, there was a ledge which would have prevented him from falling.
In many places in the Gospels you have the same thing happening. Like, when Jesus is approached by the ten lepers asking for healing and he tells them to go present themselves to the priests without having first healed them. They knew this was a violation of the law and they would face severe punishment, yet because Jesus instructed them to do this, they obeyed. And lo, as they were walking towards the village, they were made whole and completely healed of their leprosy. They trusted, and they were rewarded.
In our beautiful gospel reading today, Jesus tells us that those who trust in him are wise because they listen to his words, believe, and act upon them. Trusting him, they take his words to heart knowing he has words of everlasting life that are lovingly imparted to us for our good. He likens such individuals to a man who builds his house on rock—on solid ground. When the winds and storms came, they could not destroy the house because it was built on a solid foundation. This can also be an analogy to how each of us deal with sin. Let us ask ourselves if our trust level, our hearing of Jesus’ word is healthy and strong. One way to know is to examine what happens to “our house” each time the winds of temptation come raging against it. Do we easily succumb? Perhaps we’re building on sand and our trust level needs to be strengthened. Let us listen to Jesus words more and more throughout our lives, and growing in our trust in him, we will begin to notice that the foundation to our house is becoming more and more durable, and our soul is becoming more resistant, through his grace, to the temptations that assail it. Be of heart my friends, for it is a life-long journey.
Our Lady, Queen Full of Grace, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.
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