Is Our Faith in Vain? - 6th Sunday of OT, C

St. Francis preaching to the Sultan

Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/021719.cfm
(Audio at the bottom of this post)

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain.”  If you think about it, St. Paul is saying something very true here in the second reading.  As Catholics, we don’t simply believe that Jesus was a great moral teacher or good man to follow, but we’re saying that He is the Son of God who has resurrected from the dead.  If it turns out that Jesus really didn’t rise from the dead, then what are we doing here?  Why would we live in this way that’s so counter-cultural to what our world says is important?  Even though it’s not Easter yet, I believe it’s important for us to often be reminded of this central truth of Christianity, that because Jesus rose from the dead, we will all rise from the dead in him through our faith.  And yet I know that sometimes it’s hard to believe: we all need to be reminded at times of the resurrection, that the tomb Jesus was buried in really is empty.

A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to see that the tomb of Jesus really is empty.  I went on a pilgrimage to Israel, the Holy Land, with my fellow deacons from the seminary, and the whole trip was exceptional.  One particular highlight was at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the church built over the rock of Calvary where Jesus was crucified and over the tomb where he was buried.  From the continuous witness of the early Christians, our knowledge of history, and the geography of the area, we are very sure that these places are the actual places of these events.  In this huge church, there’s a small chapel built over the area of the tomb, and you can actually go inside this chapel for a short time.  One morning, I spent about 45 minutes standing in line in order to spend about 30 seconds in the tomb area, but those are 30 seconds I won’t forget, kneeling right in front of a long stone above the exact spot where Jesus was laid.  And yes, the tomb was empty!  I felt very joyful coming out – it was a surreal moment – and I wanted to live out this joy in my life and ministry.

What can be difficult, however, is holding this belief not just intellectually but in our entire lives, living consistently in the hope that Jesus is indeed with us.  This is what our Gospel talks about, where Jesus begins preaching this sermon on the plain.  He gives four blessings or beatitudes: blessed are the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the persecuted.  Then he gives four “woes,” woe to you who are rich, filled, laugh, and are spoken well of.  Imagine, what was it like for those who heard this sermon the first time?  I imagine some of them felt hopeful, those who felt poor or weak and needed help.  But I also imagine that some of them felt threatened, those who knew they were rich or in need of nothing. 

Here’s the key point: all of us have a space within our hearts like the empty tomb, a space where only the living Jesus can fill us.  But we often try to fill this space up with other things to try to feel satisfied or filled.  I think about my own life.  Often, I am afraid of being poor; I find myself worrying about the money or possessions that I have – do I have enough to make it through?  I am afraid of being hungry: I find myself eating more than I need because I don’t want to be hungry later on and feel uncomfortable.  I’m afraid of weeping, because I can think similarly to many in our society that tears are a sign of weakness and that feeling positive is always better.  I’m afraid of being insulted and hated because I naturally want to please everyone; in many ways, I want everyone to speak well of me, and it’s a tough reminder when Jesus tells me that the false prophets were treated in this way.  Maybe I’m just the crazy one, but I think we all have fears like this, so where do we go in our fear?

Our emptiness can be very painful at times, but instead of grasping for what is readily available, we can turn to Jesus to fill our hearts.    And we have many stories about men and women who have chosen to do so.  One famous story is that of St. Francis of Assisi, who experienced a radical conversion as a young adult.  He grew up in a very rich household and was far from being a faithful Catholic – in modern terms, we would call him a “party-er.”  He sought riches, the best food, human strength, and glory – all of the things that are the woes in today’s Gospel.  Then, when he was about 25 years old, he had a series of experiences – being locked in prison during wartime and being forced to reflect upon his life, hearing in a dream from God that he was doing it all wrong, encountering a leper on the road and seeing Jesus in him and giving him all he had, and then giving up all of his possessions in order to follow Jesus radically.  He began embracing poverty, earthly sorrow, hunger, and persecution, and he lived a truly blessed life.  His joy was evident to everyone he met, even to the animals, which is why we see bird-feeders everywhere that feature St. Francis.

Because of his faith, Francis had an incredible freedom and trust in the Lord’s power, so much so that he would do some outrageous things.  One of these things is when he went into Israel during the Crusades, to try to convert the whole Muslim army to Christ.  While he wasn’t able to convert their leaders, the Muslim leaders were so impressed with his joy and faith and got along with him, and they allowed for his followers, the Franciscans, to take care of some of the Christian holy sites in the Holy Land, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  So it was Francis’s freedom in Christ, along with the faith of many others throughout the centuries, that allowed me and so many others to visit and pray at this holy church – wow! 

St. Francis became this incredible saint because he knew that Jesus had risen from the dead and wants to share this resurrection with all of us.  His faith wasn’t in vain, and this led him to give up all that held him back from following Christ fully.  So we come to today, where we can pray at this Mass about how Jesus wants to provide for us.  We can use our Gospel today to consider: where in our lives do we not trust fully in the Lord?  Maybe we find ourselves anxious about our money or possessions, or maybe we’re finding ourselves overly concerned about impressing others.  Some of us may have some sadness in our life – Jesus wants to enter right there.  Others of us may have some doubts or questions, and we trust that God can answer them.  Whatever that may be, I invite you to take one particular area of your life and offer it on this altar today, and ask the Lord how you can respond to his love throughout this next week.  We let this altar become the empty tomb where we can discover Jesus, just as I prayed at the tomb and found true joy.  And you don’t even need to wait 45 minutes in line – we are all here now to receive Jesus in this Eucharist.