Homily – 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C
Two men looked out from prison bars –
One saw mud. The other …… Stars!
(bet you are wondering how that fits into todays readings !!)
Before we go there, lets explore in a bit more depth the words of the gospel for today.
You gotta love those disciples.
I mean, they had been travelling around with Jesus for a long time.
They had heard his teachings,
They had seen him put those teachings into action.
They had even witnessed miracles.
And yet, they still didn’t get it.
So here they are, in Luke Chapter 17, walking along with Jesus, and he had been teaching them about what it means to be a disciple.
He had been teaching them about love, and forgiveness, and mercy.
He had exposed the very heart of God to them in his words and actions.
You would think that it would be easy for them to believe in God, and in God’s message.
Then they come out with “ Lord, Increase our faith”.
I can almost imagine Jesus doing this
So, Jesus tells them that they have got it backwards.
Yes, he used more words, and he used imagery that would have been meaningful to someone living in the Roman society at that time,
but the result was the same.
He said – You’ve got it backwards.
Because nobody can give you faith.
It is something you have to develop on your own.
Because nobody can give you faith.
It is something you have to develop on your own.
Faith is about how you and I open our eyes to see the very essence of God evidenced in the world around us.
How we become aware of the music of Heaven played out in the lives of the people we encounter.
How we see in the passage of time, the subtle hand of God in life’s unfolding.
It is about looking through those prison bars, and not just seeing what is immediately obvious.
We have all grown up in a particular culture and a particular time in history.
And that very fact filters how we see the world.
For me, I spent a lot of time studying physics, and science, and engineering. And that scientific view of the world became the filters, the bars, through which I saw the world. It biased what I noticed. It shaped what was apparent to me.
I am sure it is no different for you.
Faith is not about seeing what is visible to the eye.
Rather, faith comes from looking beyond what is obvious, looking beyond what is apparent.
Faith is about learning to refocus our sight,
to see not only with our eyes, but to sense with our heart
It took a long time for me to learn to see and sense in that way, and to recognize that there was so much more beyond what immediately attracts the eye.
Part of that learning was to recognize the filters though which I saw the world. The prison bars, as it were.
And those filters were not just about how you or I had grown up, or had been educated.
They were about the attitudes we have towards people, towards life, towards God.
And we all have attitudes. About everything. Trust me.
Let me prove it.
Imagine you are walking down Main Street here in Newmarket, and see a person sitting on the side of the pathway, torn clothes, messy hair, and a Tim Horton’s cup in their hand filled with a few coins.
Bingo.
You had an attitude, didn’t you.
Be honest.
You made a judgement.
You didn’t see the person. You saw the stereotype.
And if you couldn’t see the person,
how could you hope to see Jesus – you know, the guy who said – “in as much as you do this to the least of my brothers or sisters, you do it to me.”
The filters, the attitudes we carry with us are the bars that imprison us, and block our view of reality.
Two men looked out from prison bars –
One saw mud. The other …… Stars!
And so, yes, it would be so much easier if we could just keep focused on the mud.
Because to see the stars,
we have to let go of our preconceived notions about life. About people.
We have to be Open to the Possibilities of Life.
And to see God,
we have to let go of our preconceived notions about God.
About how God relates and communicates with us.
We have to be Open to the Possibilities of God..…
And that was the second key point of Jesus’s message,
Jesus picks up a mustard seed – the tiniest seed he can find, and he tells the disciples that if they have real faith, though it appear as insignificant as this seed, everything will be possible. Even planting a bush in the ocean.
The message for you and I today is the same.
Jesus tells us that
even if we struggle with our faith, like the disciples.
even if we have less than a minuscule amount, less than a “mustard-seed” of faith,
we must never forget that from the littlest seeds, great trees can grow.
Or to be more clear, even our small, unsure, doubting, imperfect seed of faith can be used by God to transform this world, by first transforming us.
Learning to see the stars, the sparks of divinity in the world around us,
even while all others see is the mud of life,
will transform us, and increase our faith.
Becoming aware of the attitudes that shape how we see the world and our brothers and sisters,
will transform us, and increase our faith.
Learning to encounter others each day, and see in them what God sees in them,
will transform us, and increase our faith.
Learning to reach out to others in love, and compassion, and forgiveness
will transform us, and increase our faith.
so, that’s the message behind the words in todays gospel.
Be open to the infinite possibilities of life, and of God
Look past the bars, the attitudes, that shape and block our views of reality
Look beyond the mud, the obvious, the stereotype, the “surface” of life.
and see the stars, the sparks of divinity in the world around us.
Learn to see how Jesus saw,
Learn to see how God sees.
That is how we increase our faith.