I am not worthy to have you under my roof.
Just give an order and my boy will get better!
It shall be done because you trusted
Parable of the Centurion’s Servant
During Ordinary Time, that is the weeks after Pentecost, the Church presents readings which are meant to help us become people of faith. Indeed the singular mission of the Church is to lead people to faith in Jesus Christ Who, we have come to believe, IS God Himself in human form.
On this fourth weekend after Pentecost our readings during the Divine Liturgy are again taken from Paul’s letter to the Romans and the Gospel according to Matthew. As you have hopefully learned from reading my ongoing Bulletin article on the New Testament, Paul’s letter to the Romans is filled with his interpretation of the revelation made by God through the Person of Jesus.
Today’s Epistle, which is taken from the sixth chapter of this letter, Paul writes these very poignant words:
But now that you are freed from sin and have become slaves of God, your benefit is sanctification as you tend toward eternal life. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We know that sin is really a state of unawareness of God and our own salvation. When we attempt to grow in faith, we endeavor to increase our awareness of God’s presence in our lives and to discover the true meaning and purpose of life. Salvation, in very practical terms, means the achievement of increased awareness of God and the relationship that exists between us and our Creator-God.
This, of course, is where faith comes in. In order to discover God’s presence in my life I have to literally make a leap of faith. I have to risk embracing certain truths which I cannot prove. Truths about life! Truths about creation! Truths about God!
While we realize that faith is a gift from God, we realize that this gift is also given to ever person. What is required is a response!
God offers all people real opportunities to come to an awareness of Him and the love that He has for His creation. Life presents opportunities for us to come to a more profound awareness of His love. What is required of us is a response – a leap of faith!
In many ways our modern society discourages faith and tries to convince us that truth only rests with when definite data confirms truth. All data, researchers have found, is only really tentative. Further research may prove past data false or incorrect.
Faith leads to salvation!