19th Sunday

19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Readings: Wisdom 18:6‑9  Hebrew 11:1‑2,8‑19  Luke 12:32‑48

In our cynical and secular culture faith is a rare virtue.   This Sunday's readings challenge us to be people of faith who live in trust that God's future will bring deliverance from evil and gifts beyond our imagining.  Let us place our confidence in the Lord's fidelity to his promises, as we sing the lyrics of this Sunday's psalm: “See the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear him,/ upon those who hope for his

kindness,/ to deliver them from death/ and preserve them in spite of famine” (Ps 33:18‑19).

The reading from the book of Wisdom is a poem describing the faith of our Jewish ancestors on the night of the Passover when they were delivered from Egyptian bondage.  That night they courageously put their faith in God's oaths promising deliverance, as they awaited "the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes."  Their faith was expressed by offering the Passover sacrifice, "putting into effect with one accord the divine institution."  This same faith in awaiting the Lord's deliverance from evil should mark our Christian Eucharistic celebrations.

The second reading is taken from the great encomium on the faith of our Jewish ancestors in Hebrews.  It begins with a formal definition: "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see."  Through faith we attain what we hope for, and faith is the virtue by which we are put in touch with the unseen realities of God so that we may attain things unseen in the present. 

Each of the examples begins with the phrase, "by faith," and they, in some way, anticipate the resurrection faith of Christians. Abraham's faith enabled him to obey God's call to go forth to the land he was to receive as a heritage "without knowing where he was going."  His faith also gave him the hope "to live as an alien in the promised land as a foreign country."   "He," like Christian believers, "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose designer and maker is God."  Sarah's faith gave her the "power to conceive though she was past the age, for she thought that the One who made the promise was worthy of trust."  Her faith, like that of Christians, was in God's power to bring life from the dead.  “As a result of (Sarah's) faith, there came forth from one man, who was himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand of the seashore.” Finally, Abraham's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac was also an anticipation of resurrection faith because "He reasoned that God was able to raise from the dead, and so he received Isaac back as a symbol."

The Gospel from Luke continues the theme of the future orientation of Christian faith which calls for Jesus' disciples to live in trust and fidelity as they await the completion of God's kingdom.  In this section of the journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is teaching his followers that their faith should free them from earthly anxiety and make them faithful in performing their duties.  Because the Father has given them the kingdom, the disciples are free to sell their possessions and give alms.  Jesus commands them, “Get purses for yourselves that do not wear out, a never‑failing treasure with the Lord which no thief comes near nor any moth destroys.”  Jesus tells the disciples to be like servants “awaiting their master's return from a wedding, so that when he arrives and knocks, you may open for him without delay.”  If they are prepared, the master himself “will put on an apron, seat them at table and proceed to wait on them.”  Then Jesus uses the parable of the thief breaking into a house to illustrate that the time of his return is unknown.  When Peter asks if this parable is meant for the disciples, Jesus answers by telling them to be “faithful, farsighted steward(s)” who are “busy” doing their duties, rather than the type of servant who counts on his master's delay and abuses his fellow servants.  Ascertaining the time of the Lord's return is inadequate motivation for faithful behavior.