Second Sunday of Lent
Scripture:
Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18
Philippians 3:17-4:1
Luke 9:28b-36
Reflection:
Righteousness of Faith
“Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” Gen 15:6 this year we are urged by the Pope and bishops to re-discover our faith. Faith is that beautiful gift of God to us that makes Jesus visible to us as He was transformed before the apostles. A few years ago I visited Mammoth cave and saw piles of cane sticks that people used for torches 4000 years ago. In the utter blackness of a cave of some 600 miles there is no way of finding one’s way without these lights. Faith is the torch by which we see a transfigured Christ in the world today.
Without faith we can never embrace the living Christ. In the gospels countless people touched Jesus to be healed. But we can never approach Him without the gift of faith. Faith is our eyes and hands by which we encounter Christ. Without this living and precious gift the wisest and most talented people of the world missed the most amazing personality who walked the face of the earth. Without faith, the news media has not a clue of the amazing presence of Christ. Without this light massive numbers of our American society are going down the drain in drugs, broken marriages, financial swindles, and mass killings.
Abraham’s faith made him righteous. The erosion of faith has left unimaginable moral damage to our modern world. As an active missionary for 42 years I hear case after case of tragedies that happen to family members who have abandoned their Catholic faith. To me the biggest lie of our secular age is that we can achieve happiness and fulfillment without Christ. If faith made Abraham righteous, it is no wonder that its forfeiture causes a trail of heartbreaks and disasters to so many people that we and God love!
Fr. Bob Weiss, C.P. preaches Parish Missions and is a member of the Passionist Community in Louisville, Kentucky.