Friday, April 04, 2008

Low Sunday 30.3.08 Sermon

Low Sunday 30.3.08 Faith and Mercy

At the Easter vigil the people were asked: Creditis... and they replied Credimus to certain propositions, such as God is Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, and in the Holy Catholic Church...

Do you believe it? Do you really really believe it, in the depths of your soul, or is it just a mental concept for your brain only but not really in your heart?

It is saying a lot to say Credimus to all those things.

A lot of people will say they believe in God in the sense that ‘there’s gotta be something out there’, but to believe in God not just as a proposition but as a Person is another matter altogether.

Belief in God at the personal level means we trust Him. It means that if we lose our house and car and family and job on the one day we still trust God, and still expect Him to set everything right.

We do not abandon Him at the first sign of trouble, but await the revelation of His glorious power.

The words to Thomas, Touch My wounds, see for yourself... – these words are for our benefit also and assure us that faith in God is not taking some risky gamble but an absolute certainty.

If we have this perfect trust in Him which is required we will be very happy in ourselves, able to cope with anything (because resigned to His will); and we will be able to inspire others.

A lot of people think they believe in God but it is only a concept in the head. They believe as long as things are going well, but if they suffer some adversity they stop believing and just rereat to other pursuits.

Our Lord wants us to believe with that same physical certainty as Thomas experienced.

So He comes to us and makes Himself known. He does not expect us to believe in a vacuum, or just by sheer willpower.

He makes His presence felt. He embraces us in His love and drives away doubt and fear, and sins too (Mercy Sunday).

Why do we doubt? Because we do not experience the presence of God fully enough. If we could see Him face to face; if we could touch Him – then we would believe. If we could see Him walking with us everywhere we go, then we would never be downcast, nor would we ever commit a sin.

The doubt, the fear, the sin are all products of the same thing – that we feel God to be distant from us and ourselves to be left alone like orphans, fending for ourselves and not properly equipped.

Is not this an accurate picture of the human race at any given time? And even the Christians are like this.

Somehow we have allowed the gloom back in, which the light of Christ dispelled. Christ Is Risen, but no Alleluia, no resonating affirmation.

How can we capture Him in our hearts so that we always know He is there, even in the midst of everyday difficulties?

It needs prayer and sacraments and good works. These will deepen our contact with Him so that we can perceive Him deep in our hearts. Familiarity breeds Love in this case. We come to know Him.

If we stay at the level of ‘gotta be something out there’ we will never have the intimacy the trust required. God is just an impersonal principle in that case, and we will always feel alone.

But if we seek Him out relentlessly, turning everything to prayer, inviting Him into our hearts, then we start to feel His love. There will still be difficulties but they will be manageable and there will be a sense of partnership with Him as we work through them.

‘Creditis’? Still? Yes, and more each week.