13 Ordinary: June 29/30, 2024

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It is good to be back.  I love to travel and visiting Ireland and Scotland was great –
    But I do have to admit there a little Dorothy Gail in me in thinking – there no place like home.
    And so it’s good to back and to be with all of you again. . .

    I find the contrast of today’s Gospel with last Sunday’s Gospel a little humorous.
    Recall last week the disciples were in a storm-tossed boat with Jesus– scared out of their wits that they were all going down with the ship.
    So Jesus calmed the waters – then asked:  do you not yet have faith?
    Now these were guys who had been with Jesus for awhile.  They had already seen him
    -cure a man possessed by a demon as well as Peter’s mother-in-law.
    -had seen Jesus cleanse a leper and heal a paralytic and a man with  a withered hand.
    -had hear Jesus tell a few of his parables – and yet Jesus has to ask:
    Why are you terrified?
    Do you not yet have faith?
And the answer is:  obviously not. . .

    The humor, I think, comes in by the people in today’s Gospel.  These are folks who, unlike the disciples, have NOT been with Jesus - they have only heard about him.
    And Jesus says to one:
Daughter, your FAITH has cured you.
    And to the other:
Do not be afraid - just have FAITH - and he must have –  for his daughter is raised from the dead.
    FAITH:  the ability to trust God and God’s love for us.
    FAITH:  knowing that God is in charge and we are not.
    FAITH:  the spark of the divine that God places within each of us with the hope that we will nurture it. . .
    When I read today’s Gospel, it made me think how the people who followed Jesus at that time were blessed to see him in the flesh.  And I wonder about their ability to place their faith in Jesus. . .
    I fear that even if I saw Jesus perform miracles and say amazing things – I still might have been more like Thomas of another Gospel — and doubted.
    But the bleeding woman and the father of the girl thought to be dead – even without seeing or hearing Jesus prior to their encounter with him – believed.
    We just need to have faith.  We just have to let go of our doubts, our fears, our need to control – and believe in the power of the divine
    But that letting go can be both scary and freeing.
    While we might not have witnessed Jesus performing a miracle – we can still have faith that God can make us and our world whole again.
    We can have faith that though there is evil in the world, that justice is undying.
    We can have faith when we see good in others, when we see people working to improve the lives of others who may feel forgotten.
    In these times and places, we can have faith that God is in charge, and we are not.
    In a world beset with tragedy and sometimes senseless acts of violence – it can be hard to have faith.
    But we have to remember that miracles though they be small – do happen all around us – if only we would pay attention to them.
    Our faith should help us not only to believe – but also act:  with kind words and compassionate actions.
    We need to let our faith shine.  Let God in.  Believe that justice is undying, that by doing what we can, where we are, with what we have  – we can make a difference in the world.
    We just need to have faith . . .

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