Homily
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Stewardship
God’s greatest gift to us is love. And all he asks for in return is trust.
Trust in his care for us and for all of his creation.
Trust in his Holy Will, and the plan he has laid out for each one of us.
Trust that his promises to us will be fulfilled.
But trust is never easy, for it requires belief in what is unseen, hope in what others cannot readily discern, and belief that what is most real is known only by the heart that chooses to believe.
I think of the old trust game they used to use in Outward Bound: Close your eyes, fold your hands over your chest, and fall back into the secure arms of another. Trust that he will be there. Trust that he is strong enough to keep you from falling to the ground. Trust in his presence and in his care.
From our first breath to our last, life is but a series of exercises in trusting God. Do I so believe in his wisdom that I place my life in his hands more quickly than I will in my own? Do I so believe in his love that I let go of everything that does not lead me to or come from him? Is my faith so sure that I will let myself fall into his arms alone and trust that I will be safer than before I even started to fall?
But I am so tempted, with Jeremiah, to trust more in the flesh than in an invisible God!
To seek to be rich, over-stuffed, laughing, vengeful and victorious! To grab for all the gusto I can get in this life.
But then Jesus comes along and asks me to trust:
to trust enough to be poor, that he might enrich me with his grace
to trust enough to be hungry, that he alone might satisfy me
to trust enough to weep, that he might show me perfect joy
to trust enough to forgive, that he might shower me with mercy
to trust enough to take the last place, that he might lead me to glory with him forever.
On each dollar bill we carry in our pockets and pocket books appears the words In God We Trust. As a country, as a cathedral, and a Catholic may we live those words with all our hearts.
