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“Daughter, Your Faith Has Saved You”: A Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Daughter, Your Faith Has Saved You”: A Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last updated on: July 5, 2015 at 2:27 pm by Kathy Schiffer

“Daughter, Your Faith Has Saved You”: A Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time 2015-07-05T14:27:15-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

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Thank you to my husband, Deacon Jerry Schiffer, for permitting me to share his homily. Here, he encourages us to find meaning through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Gabriel von Max, The Raising of the Daughter of Jairus (Public domain)

“Daughter, Your Faith Has Saved You”

A guest post by Deacon Jerry Schiffer

I think it’s safe to say that many people are uneasy with the state of the world today. Whether the topic is the climate or politics or the economy or cultural changes, many find reason to fear the future. At times like this I think it’s good to reflect on words offered by Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who was imprisoned during World War II for helping many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust. In the face of all the inhumanity that she witnessed, she never lost her faith in God or in his power to give us all that we truly need in life.

“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark,” she wrote, “you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

“Never be afraid,” she said, “to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Those are profound thoughts in any age, but especially at a time in history when Christians are facing criticism and perhaps even persecution for the things that they believe. Faith in God is always important, but it is especially important in times like these.

It is important to understand the need for faith and the role of faith in God’s plan for our salvation. We are called to be in personal relationship with God – to become disciples of Jesus as we seek holiness in our lives.

None of that is possible unless we truly believe in Jesus and all that he has promised. That is apparent in today’s Gospel, as Jesus is amazed at the lack of faith on the part of those who heard him teach in the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth.

Capable of mighty deeds at other times in other places, Jesus is powerless among those who will not believe. Jesus offers us the gift of life, but the power is in our hands. Unless we choose to accept his offer, no gift is ever exchanged.

His words were filled with meaning that day in Nazareth but his listeners couldn’t hear his message. Because, the teacher said, they lacked faith.

In this passage, “faith” refers to the personal response of individuals to Jesus and to his message. If they have this faith then they believe in him and in the message of salvation that he is bringing to them. But if their faith is not personal, then they will not believe.

In his book More Christianity, Catholic convert, priest and author Fr. Dwight Longenecker describes faith as being linked to a real person in time and place – to Jesus. “In John’s Gospel,” he says, “it becomes clear that having faith in Jesus means entering into a supernatural union with him.”

But faith is not merely a spiritual exercise, even if a relationship with Jesus is the objective.

“Faith that is not acted out in the world is not faith at all,” Fr. Longenecker writes. “Faith that is just a personal inner religious experience is incomplete.” For with that relationship comes another reality, Fr. Longenecker reminds us. “Through faith we become one in Christ in order that we may do his works and speak his words in the world.”

We need to become conscious disciples of Jesus if we really want to be in relationship with him. And it all begins with faith.

Two weeks ago, we read in Mark’s Gospel about Jesus and his disciples who were crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat when a violent storm arose. If you remember, the disciples panicked as Jesus slept on a cushion in the back of the boat.

Fearing for their lives, they awakened Jesus who quickly silenced the wind and the waves – but not without noticing their lack of faith in his ability to control the elements that threatened them. “Do you not yet have faith?” Jesus asked them. Apparently they did not.

The theme of faith continued in last week’s Gospel as two members of a crowd that was following Jesus approached him to ease their suffering. One was a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for 12 years without relief. She believed in Jesus’ power to heal her; she had a personal faith in Jesus as a teacher and in his ability to cure her if only she could get close enough to touch his cloak. She did; and she was healed. “Daughter, your faith has saved you,” Jesus said. “Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”

Also seeking Jesus that day was the synagogue official Jairus whose daughter was dying. Ignoring the message that the official’s daughter had already died, Jesus simply said to him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” The official believed; and as we know, his daughter lived.

And then we come to today’s Gospel, which is also addressing this most important topic of faith. In this passage today from the Evangelist Mark, those who are in the synagogue listening to Jesus are astonished. They are amazed by his wisdom and the mighty deeds that he has done.

These are not followers who are not yet confident in Jesus’ powers, as were the disciples in the boat. But neither are they followers have chosen to believe in Jesus and are willing to approach him personally to seek his help.

Rather, they are onlookers who can see the power and wisdom of Jesus but who choose not to believe, not to be in relationship with this lowly carpenter, this son of Mary, who grew up in their neighborhood. They believe that Jesus’ wisdom and power are real – but they do not believe enough to be in relationship with him.

* * * * *

Where do we fall in our quest for faith? Are we followers who do not yet believe? Do we see the wisdom and power of Jesus but choose not to make the commitment? Or do we have the kind of personal faith in Jesus that allows us to approach him as our personal Lord and Savior, asking for the most important things in our lives, and fully trusting in his mercy and his love?

Today we live in a world that seems less and less able to appreciate something that is truly important in life – the pursuit of holiness through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Because we are created in the image and likeness of God, there is built into each one of us the vision and possibility of our own holiness – of coming to know Jesus and using our gifts and talents to become the people that we were intended to be.

More and more each day it may seem that our world is headed in a different direction. Many of us may not only fail to seek holiness in our lives but we may fail to even see holiness as our most meaningful goal as human beings.

Through faith, we are called to recognize the only true source of real meaning in our lives – Jesus Christ. More than that, our faith calls us to share this truth with others, even in the face of criticism and persecution.

Like the Prophet Ezekiel in today’s first reading, we must always speak the word of the Lord, even when that word is rejected. As if speaking about the world today, the passage from Ezekiel warns:

“Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God. And whether they heed or resist – for they are a rebellious house – they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

And like the Apostle Paul today, we cannot let the challenges of the world or our personal weaknesses discourage us. Each of us is a sinner; each of us faces temptations; each of us has challenges that we must face. Paul prayed about a “thorn in the flesh” that afflicted him. The Lord answered “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

We need to be encouraged by the words of St. Paul in meeting our challenges as disciples of Christ: “Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and constraints for the sake of Christ,” Paul said. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” We must trust not in our own strength, but in the power of God who acts in us.

Deacon Jerry Schiffer

Today let us find joy in knowing that in Jesus Christ we can find meaning that the world cannot hope to offer. Let us set our sights on holiness through a personal relationship with the one who saves us all.

We can come to that relationship – we can come to know Jesus personally – through prayer and by reading the Bible. If we do both for just a few minutes each day we will begin to know Jesus more every day of our lives.

And as we do come to know Jesus personally, we will want and need to respond to that relationship by becoming his disciples. Through our faith in Jesus Christ, and by our response to his teaching, let us pray that one day we will hear him say to us, as he did to the suffering woman, “Your faith has saved you.”

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