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By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Will he find
faith…?
The Profession of Faith Versus an Attitude of Faith
Church as a Big Home
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Sacred Heart Church, Brevard, NC 28712
October 20, 2013
Faith As a Lived Experience
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
“Will he find
faith…?
In today’s Gospel passage
Jesus tells his disciples a story about a widow who stands before a judge as a
way of modeling for them the perseverance they should have when they are
praying.
He gives them this
wonderful example of a woman who won’t give up asking of the judge what she
wants and needs. He, of course, is indifferent, but after being literally worn
down by the woman’s perseverance, gives in and gives her what she is asking
for.
But then, after
telling the story, Jesus adds a strange line that seems as if he is distracted.
He asks, “But when the Son of Man comes,
will he find any faith on earth?”
Huh? How does that
statement fit with the story he has just told?
Will There Be Trusting Faith?
A Benedictine abbot
and spiritual writer, Jerome Kodell, says that the answer of how the story of
the widow and the statement of “God
finding faith on earth” depends on what we mean by faith.
Let me explain. When
Jesus asks, “Will the Son of Man find
faith on the earth?” he does not mean the definition of faith found in The
Catechism of the Catholic Faith.
Jesus doesn’t use the
widow as an example of one who knows and believes all the teachings of her
religion. Far from it, he uses the woman
as an example of one who has a steady trust in God.
She’s an example of
those who steadily pray to God and continually center their lives on God. She’s
an example of those who trust in God regardless of their personal
circumstances.
Often in the Gospels
we hear the phrase, “Your faith has saved
you.” Jesus uses the phrase when he is
restoring people physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
So when Jesus says, “Your faith has saved you,” he means your
persistent, steady attitude of trust – no matter how sinful you think you are,
no matter how unworthy you may be – that is what will win you salvation.
The great insight is
that it’s not what you believe up here, in your head, as a creed or teaching of
the Church that will make the difference. It’s ultimately trusting in the
goodness of God, though things are tough or not fully understood.
The Profession of Faith Versus an Attitude of Faith
Every Sunday we
recite the Profession of Faith, but there could be a danger of professing faith
with our lips and not have the underlying, steady, trusting heart faith of the
woman in the Gospel.
I would ask, is it
not possible to profess faith without having the faith that leads us to turn
our lives over to God with real trust in God’s love and goodness? That is the
faith that saves you.
This is what Pope
Francis is getting at. Rather than hammering away at two or three issues of
Catholic teaching, Pope Francis has been focusing more on the love and mercy
and goodness of God and on our need to have a trusting relationship with
God.
And isn’t that why
Francis is having such great appeal to all people, especially Catholics who
feel distanced from the Church? He’s stirring within us a faith that saves!
Church as a Big Home
Pope Francis sees the Church as a large home for all and
not as a little chapel for an elite few.
He doesn’t want to exclude anyone from the community of
the Church for one issue or another. It
sure sounds like Jesus to me!
You won’t find Jesus saying that those who believe this or
that in their minds or have it on their lips will be saved. But those who do good, care for the least and
the last and lost, they will be saved.
Jesus lifts up an active faith, a trust in God’s
love. Pope Francis is saying that this
is the test of being in God’s family, so we need to welcome and include all who
live with this love and trusting faith in their hearts.
That trusting faith is the basis for oneness with Jesus
and with the living Body of Christ, the Church.
We end with the question with which we began: “Will the Son of Man find faith on the
earth?” I believe there is a great amount
of it, within the Church, and outside the Church, among those who feel
unwelcome.
