Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 8 August 2010 Deacon John McMullen
Readings
Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 & Luke 12.32-33
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
1) My wife and I and the kids recently went camping – I know – in July? It was as humid as… well… It was My wife’s idea. But I had time to really reflect on things as I spent time in the woods, in a hot, humid, and wet tent. One question I came home with was: “What is the one thing necessary?” “What really matters?” My wife said a dry bed and air-conditioning would be a start.
Seriously, every morning the birds woke us with their beautiful songs. Let’s face it. The birds have no worries. The first thing they do each morning is wake and sing. They praise God and then go look for food.
2) Today we heard about the Hebrew patriarch Abraham knew what it was like to live in a tent. Abraham, at the age of 75, abandoned all he knew and he and his beloved wife Sarah left home in search of a land God promised He would show him!
He and Sarah were on the camping trail with God. Think of Abraham’s faith. He’s a 75 year old man who was open to the Word of God. He should have been retiring and moving into a condo – certainly not living in a tent!
There is no question that his peers – and his father and brother - likely considered him to be acting like a teenager or thought he was having a late mid-life crisis. Sort of like when my wife said we’re going camping in July and I agreed. But oftentimes God speaks to us through those around us, even our wives, children, friends – and even our enemies!
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. He just started walking to the land God promised to show him...No maps, no GPS, nothing, no evidence except faith in a promise!
Oftentimes it is the very old and the very young who can see the clearest, such as the young Virgin Mary, Juan Diego, or Blessed Pope John XXIII when he dared to call the Second Vatican Council!
3) On the second day of our camping trip we decided to go hiking. The adults in our group were well equipped with water bottles, maps, cell phones, hiking boots, backpacks, even an umbrella, etc.
But the kids with us just took off into the woods, with no water, no map, nothing… all they knew was that there was a trail and there was a lake at the end of the trail. That’s all they had to go on and then they were gone. The kids had complete trust and in their youthful enthusiasm they ran off like they knew what they were doing!
As the kids quickly went out of sight – the adults trudged on. Then the horror stories began about those who have gotten lost in the woods and were stranded for days or actually died, whose skeletal remains were not discovered until much later. The talk then turned even more morbid, recounting other notorious camping trips gone horribly wrong.
One of the adults said, “If we’ve lost the kids, we can notify the park rangers.” But this did not make my wife feel any better. Trust me.
Mind you, that’s when the clouds began to grow dark and then thunder followed. It soon began to rain and rain – and RAIN. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled even more loudly. And still no sign of our children on the trail.
That’s when the mothers of our group began to get really worried. We called to the kids, but no answer. I ran ahead and soon found myself entangled in spider webs across the trail path, which was a sure sign that no one had been on this trail in a while. My son did not answer his cell phone and the rain was a steady downpour as the storm grew worse.
We adults were now deep, deep in the forest. I had a feeling that the kids were fine, but that didn’t allay the mamas’ fears. We adults were the ones who were lost. With all of our sophisticated equipment, we were clueless on the trail in the forest.
4) Have any of you ever felt lost in the woods of life? Haven’t we all at one time or another felt lost in the woods of life – the loss of a job, the death of a spouse, being in a dead end job? Or even just the terrible feeling of loneliness and being all alone?
Jesus told his disciples BE NOT AFRAID any longer, little flock. Just as the birds trust completely in their makers’ care, Jesus assures us that not even one of them is neglected by God. Even their feathers have been counted! Jesus says “Your heavenly Father is pleased to give you the kingdom!” He is pleased to give you the kingdom!
5) As we continued to hike the trail that day, we, the adults, with all our maps, flashlights, and electronic devices, we were powerless. We needed to keep faith. We needed to trust!
As the lightning decreased and the thunder began to subside; the sun broke through the clouds, revealing a blue sky. Then my wife’s cell phone rang. It was our oldest son back at the van, wanting to know what was taking us so long. It turns out the kids had it right.
Like Abraham who trusted in God completely and walked in faith, knowing that the Lord would lead him, the young people with us on our hike that day had faith and hope in the unseen.
The kids had blazed a trail of faith and reminded us of Abraham and Sarah who had obeyed God’s call and made a leap of faith.
In the woods that day, the kids had faith in us adults completely. The kids showed us the kind of faith that Abraham had, the kind of faith Jesus was talking about, when they put their trust in us, knowing that we were going to look out for them and care for them.
We should be the same way with God – trusting in Jesus’ words: “No longer be afraid!”
Be assured, that there will be storms, we will sometimes seem to be lost, and we will be frightened, but we must fear not! For our Heavenly Father is pleased to give us the kingdom! Nothing can separate us from the Love of God that comes through Jesus Christ!
Happy the people God has chosen as his own, for he travels with us on the path of life!
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