Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We heard last week about how the ‘pursuit of more’ blinded the rich man in the gospel from seeing the sufferings of Lazarus. He was not a cruel man or complacent but he did not see the reality in front of him and by the time he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham it was too late.
Why is it that modern men and women are so busy? Usually it boils down to this: the pursuit of more. It could be more material things or more sports victories for their kids, and they think this is what will fill their heart, and this is a lie. My quality of life is not guided by the things I have but on something much deeper: a relationship with God, time to care for my family and to see the needs of those around me. As we finish this topic of counting the cost for the last few weeks it is helpful to see that I am not God, and I cannot control the things around me, and not everything can be perfect. When you have the courage to let go, and let others be the way they are you will experience more peace.
You all need breathing room, time to pray, to have dinner with the family and not to always be on the run. The readings for the past few Sundays hopefully have helped you to take stock and perhaps to cut out some things from your busy schedule so that you have breathing room.
In chapter 17 of Luke the apostles are told that there should be no limit to their forgiveness of others and they realize that they cannot do that, and they ask, ‘Lord, increase my faith.’ Lord, I need help. I cannot do this by myself. Faith starts small like a mustard see, the smallest of all seeds (Luke 17: 5-10). By the decision to plant your confidence in God your faith grows. Giving up the second job, or setting aside time in the morning to pray before work, or letting go of something you think you can control, then the seed starts to grow. A young mom in the parish gave up her job so she could have more time to be with her child while she is young. Another young mom just had her second child and is hoping and praying for more children even though her deliveries are done by Cesarean section and it takes a long time to recover. An older parishioner is given less than a year to live and he feels at peace. These are signs of faith in our parish!
Faith is not a trophy that is put out for others to see; it is a decision that leads us to go out of ourselves. If that seed of faith is not used it does not grow. It needs to be used in service to others for the sake of the gospel. The seed given to you in baptism, and confirmation, needs to be watered and fertilized, or it dies.
At the end of the day the servant in the gospel says, “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we are supposed to do.” Faith makes it possible for you to give your life a bit for the others. To do what I as a parent ought to do, or as a priest, or as a neighbor. Taking that leap of doing something for the other person increases my faith. You have to use it, or you lose it.
With some breathing room in your life it is possible to have order in your homes, to have time to relax as a family, to work on relationships with one another; it is possible to live a sane life. Your father, God, wants this for you; he wants you to be happy and at peace.
