Make the leap

A homily for the 19^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 7, 2022

Wis 18:6-9, Heb 11:1-2, 8-19, Lk 12:32-48

Flo wants us to bundle our homeowners’ insurance with our other policies.

The Property Brothers say our burglar alarm system should be fully integrated with our electronic house-management system.

And the Geico Gecko … well, he/it does have that cute British-ish accent.

We spend a lot of money protecting the things we spent a lot of money on.

But are we protecting what is truly valuable? If so, how?

During these weeks of Ordinary Time, which not by sheer coincidence coincide with the laid-back weeks of summer in the Northern Hemisphere, our Scripture passages time and again nudge us toward thinking about the values that our home in Heaven is built on. The values that open the so-called Pearly Gates for us.

Today, we’re nudged to think about Faith.

Faith, Hope and Charity/Love — the big three, the virtues whose number echoes the Trinity and Unity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are taught that the greatest of these is Love, and we believe that God is the source and substance of Love.

So, yeah, Love.

Powerful beyond our ability to imagine. Yet simultaneously warm, fuzzy, familiar, close at hand.

Ah, yes, Love.

For people in touch with their best selves, and their best selves in touch with the Divine Light, Love comes easily.

Hope, though, and Faith … they’re a bit tougher to embrace. And a lot scarier.

It’s nearly impossible to say “a leap of faith” without imagining a bottomless pit or a yawning chasm or a bubbling volcano. Taking a leap of faith implies that if we’re wrong about what we believe, we will suffer dire consequences.

And yet, as hockey great Wayne Gretzky said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Or as baseball great Yogi Berra advised, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

So Faith, then, is an active value. 

There are libraries full of books describing what Faith is. Many of them wrap Faith in deep ponderings. Contemplation is blessed but — and especially in the world today — Faith demands that we get out of our heads and onto the streets.

Let’s review what St. Paul told the Hebrews at the start of today’s passage:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.

And then, in verse 6, a section of the letter edited out of today’s selection:

[A]nyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Faith means believing and then acting on those beliefs. Believing in God. Believing that God is good, only good, and the source of all that is good.

Trusting in God. Trusting that God has a plan for us, and that it’s for the best. Trusting that God will give us the strength to carry out that plan.

Faith means believing that that plan calls for us to protect and preserve what God values in this world and the next.

To protect and preserve the safety, sustenance and dignity of all humankind, especially our sisters and brothers whom Our Lord calls the least of our kindred. 

Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.

To protect and preserve the safety, sustenance and dignity of all of God’s Creation, which will tell God we are truly grateful for all these divine gifts.

[F]ill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.

Faith means believing that God accounted for our unique abilities and personalities when she fashioned individual plans for us, when he mapped the way for us. We will recognize our specific duties and tasks because we will know that we can accomplish them.

If we believe, we must look ahead on the path God has set before us. If we believe, we will de-emphasize earthly stuff. Realistically, not barefoot and wearing sackcloth and ashes.

If we believe, we will be confident that God and God’s grace provide our safety net and our provisions for the journey.

If we believe, we will achieve.

If we believe, we must leap.