C Cycle – 5^th Sunday of Easter 25

Acts 14:01-27

Paul as he traveled from city to city preaching the good news encouraged those who responded to the gospel to persevere in faith.  Of course, we know from history those early Christians were e persecution. Paul knew the need to persevere. He knew the importance of sanding firm in faith. But we today are not facing the kind of persecution those early Christians faced. Today’s reading from Acts does not resonate within us in the same way it did then. In fact, it does not seem relevant to us and therefore it is easy to dismiss as having any relevance in our lives. It is too easy to turn off our minds and not even pay attention to the scripture readings like this one. Yet it is the Word of God, given to us not as a history lesson but as a lesson to draw us closer to God. 

Persevere – endure, persist, strive, do not give up, keep trusting and believing in God. That is what is God telling us today in this year of two thousand and twenty five.   In one way our faith is too easy.  We have comfortable churches, dedicated priests, deacons, nuns, religious orders and yes, they are human and often fail to live up to the ideals of Christ.  But overall, we are not under overt pressure to suppress our faith and are free to practice it in the open. 

However, over the past thirty years local schools, governments and workplaces have banned any public display of religion. Society in the name of keeping church and state separated has force us into Keeping our faith to ourselves.  That has weakened our ability to promote the gospel and impact the lives of those who need to hear Christ is the answer.   

That is not why Christ came and why He gave us the command to make disciples of all the nations.  Jesus came to ignite a fire and change how we worship and change who we are.  That is a lesson Saul of Tarsus learned, and it changed him.  Faith is more than believing it is the motivating force designed to compel us to seek, to reflect and to act on something unseen and yet something we know we are destined to share.  Faith is more than hoping for something we believe in will someday be evident and real.  Faith is knowing the gospel is true and we can depend on the promises of God that all our tears will be wiped away.    

Faith was the force that allowed Peter to step out of the boat as a storm was raging around him.  It is the force that allows us to endure hardships of health, grief, finances, and rejection because we know we will be given strength for another day.  It is a knowing Christ did die for our sins and faith will allow us to overcome our sins and failings as it draws us closer to Christ instead of away from Christ.  Faith allows us to know Christ will continue to reach out to us as the Spirit works to change our hearts.  Faith is a necessary component of our ability to persevere.  Faith is a gift of the Spirits work within us, nudging us to surrender to the transforming power of the Christ’s death and resurrection.

However, we can be stubborn, and we prefer predictability in how we live out our faith in Christ.  We like a predictable religion.  But that kind of religion does not demand us to respond to the scriptures being proclaimed to us each Sunday.  That kind of approach to our religion does not demand our minds or hearts to be engaged while we worship.  As we leave the Church each week, we cannot even remember the scripture passages that were proclaimed, nor does it demand we respond to the Word of God given to us in a homily.  If you do not believe that is happening, ask someone after mass one Sunday what the readings were or what the homily was about. It is not unusual for the Liturgy of the Word to have no impact on those attending.  Unfortunately, that is because we have not been taught God is present to us in every reading and speaks to us in every homily.

OYet for those of us who preach we know it is not what we say but what God says to you when something word or phrase is used by God to speak to your heart.  It is at that moment; your thoughts go elsewhere as God takes you where you need to be. You will at that moment encounter His love, forgiveness, and your need for your own personal response.  To get there means you do need to listen with what Jesus called “ears to hear” and a “heart to respond.”  That means you must admit God has something to say to you and that demands a belief in God’s promise to you that His word will not return to Him void but achieve the purpose for which it is sent.   

Faith is infectious because faith can cause others to question how you can be so certain while they have doubts.  I find it amazing that when Peter walked on water, not one other disciple on the boat had the courage to follow Peter.  I would love to walk on the water just for a few steps.  However, I do not need to walk on water to believe God is a miracle working God. Faith can move mountains and believe that God is with us is enough for us to overcome all that the world can throw at us. 

It allows us to believe in a God who said, “He would not abandon us, nor forsake us.” It slows us to be bold in our lives and in what we pray for. It allows us to be comfortable with a God who continually invites us to take a step into the unknown where we are dependent on Him and not ourselves.  It is there where we can love and forgive others and like Paul exhort them to forgive themselves.