In our first Reading from Romans we hear, Abraham did not doubt God’s promise; rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God and was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do.
How assured was Abraham in the promises and faithfulness of God. How wonderful his faith was. For Abraham anxiety had no hold on him. He was not driven by fear or even actions of those around him.
He believed and it was credited to him. He was favored and he was focused on Gods will.
That is really the secret to less anxiety and worry and doubt….. committing ourselves to trust in God more, growing our faith. It wasn’t but a couple of weeks ago we heard the Gospel text where Jesus said that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could move mountains. Which says a couple of things.
It tells us the disciples struggled with their faith too.
We assume I think or expect the disciples who walked with Jesus would be filled with unwavering faith. We know of course that wasn’t always true. We have only to read about Peter’s denials or Thomas and his unbelief in the resurrection without seeing first hand.
So, if we arrive at this day and find our faith isn’t as strong as we would hope. Maybe we have worries and out things and money and even illness.
We are in good company. But we are encouraged to continue growing our faith by staying close to God. That is key. Prayer through the day. Daily Rosary. The more we give time to God in our day, the more how will influences us and we align our will to his and our faith will grow. And then we can be like Abraham who was unwavering in faith and rejected anxiety. His focus was not on this world.
That doesn’t mean he abandoned the world though and secluded himself. No, how life was among the people and his mission was to grow the chosen people to cover the earth. He truly was all in, using this world for Gods mission and will. Which for those of us who work every day and spend most of our time earning a living, shopping, interacting with all around us, that is good news.
We too are expected to increase our faith and prioritize our faith toward Jesus Christ.
In the Gospel Jesus admonishes the man who asked him to intervene in an inheritance dispute. Jesus says you are asking for the wrong thing basically. It doesn’t matter. Where you find yourself today is what matters and what you are doing with the precious time and resources you have been given.
That means making prayer part of every day. Volunteer to help in ministry at your church. Talk to those you love, and we are called to love everyone about the blessings we have received as Christians.
Time is short. Our life can end this day. Will you regret not telling someone you love, about Jesus. That daughter or brother? Maybe colleague. Will you regret not getting to know Jesus more so that when you have to face him he is not a stranger who you don’t know in your heart and soul?
We can all decide how we want this life to play out starting today.
If we ask ourselves, what do we want the conversation with Jesus to be about, we will quickly realize we need to get busy loving and sharing faith that we have with others. Quickly. And stop each day in the morning, noon, and night to pray and make Jesus part of everything.
Then when we meet Jesus, it will truly be a meeting of friends. Not an introduction to a stranger.
Deacon Tony Pynes 
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