27th Sunday: Year C
GOD STILL HAS A
VISION: IF IT DELAYS, WAIT FOR IT (Hab. 2: 3)
Beloved
in Christ, this year is the Year of Faith, as declared by our Holy Father, Pope
Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Year is almost coming to an end and our readings
today invite each one of us to reflect on whether or not we have grown in our
faith. One of the greatest obstacles to our faith, is frustrations in life,
especially when we feel God is not listening to our prayers or when we think
God has delayed in answering our prayers. We can become very frustrated and
even angry.
In
our first reading today, the Prophet Habakkuk is angry and frustrated with God
because his prayers have not been answered. He said he had been crying out to
God for help but God has not listened and has refused to intervene. As the
prophet express his frustration, God responds; but if you pay attention to the
reading, you will see that God’s response was not an immediate solution to the
problems. Rather, God tells him: “I still have a vision….if it delays, wait
for it, it will surely come”. God’s vision is to make all things new; so
when life gets difficult we need to remember that our God sees our tears, he
feels our pain, and no matter how long it takes God will make things new.
Beloved
in Christ, in our second reading today, St. Paul tells us that we should not
turn our back on God when life gets difficult. That we should not throw God’s
teachings aways when life gets tough because true faith is love; and it must
stand in good and bad times. When trouble comes we should fan our faith into
flames. We should not let difficulties call our faith into question. Rather,
troubles should call our faith into action.
In
the Gospel of today, Jesus invites us to develop the right perspective to life
so that we can hold on to our Christian faith and grow in it. He tells us not
to see the good things we do (prayers, fasting, holy life, charitable deeds
etc) as buying God’s grace or fulfilling some conditions that God needs before
he can bless our lives. Such an attitude will just bring frustrations, despair,
anger, even lost of faith in God. Rather we should see all we do as giving
thanks to God for what he has done for us ( Our very lives are gifts from God,
the air we breath, the gift of family and friends are all free and blessings
from our God). Above all, our good deeds should be done to say “thank you” to
God for the salvation he has won for us in Christ. When we live like that, we
can always be grateful no matter what life brings and we can even thank God for
what he is yet to do.
My
brother, my sister, there comes a time in our lives when we can all feel like
the prophet. Maybe you have been struggling with some habitual sin and you have
been going to confession and crying out to God and you don’t see any result and
you feel like God is not listening to you. Maybe you have some sickness that
you have been struggling with and you have been praying for healing and God
seems not to listen. Maybe you have been praying about a job, or some situation
in your family or with your friends, or even in your church and the more you
pray the worse the situation seems to get. In times like that, your faith will
be tested, you can become frustrated and even angry. But when you feel that way
and your faith is tested, I want you to remember God’s response to the prophet “
I still have a vision....if it delays, wait for it, it will surely come”.
When I hear those words from God, I remember one of my favorite
songs: God will make a way where there seems to be no way!
Therefore,
Beloved, if some situations in your life are making it difficult for you
to live your faith, do what the disciples did in the gospel of today. Go to
Jesus and tell him: “Lord, increase my faith”. He will make a way for you. God
still has a vision; his delays are not his denials.
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