One
of my appointments as a priest was working in a hospital in my
hometown. As in any hospital many people died there. One of the
readings that I would often read as part of the prayers for the dead
is part of the second reading, the part where it says, ‘For us our
homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the Saviour we are
waiting for…’ I’m sure when I read this out it usually wasn’t
heard, because the people there were too much in shock, too numb, but
the reading is important because it is a reminder to us of the hope
that we have, through our faith.
Can you
imagine what it would be like if we had no hope; if we didn’t
believe in any kind of an afterlife? It would make this life very
difficult. How would we keep going when things go wrong, when
everything seems to fall apart? One of the greatest things that our
faith gives us is hope. We mightn’t think of it this way, but it’s
true. You may even think that you don’t have much faith at all, but
if you’ve even come this far, to mass, then you have faith. We
believe, even if we don’t have it all figured out. We believe that
there is a better life after this one, if we choose it by the way we
live. We believe that we will see the people we love again. It’s
very important that we have this hope.
In
the first reading God promises Abram, who later becomes Abraham, the
Promised Land: a land for his people, a home, but the Promised Land
is also a sign or a symbol of what he is promising us: eternal life
in heaven. The Lord is saying that it is there for us if we want it
and if we want it, then we are to try and live the way he taught us,
because that is the path that brings us there. And so we do, we
struggle and try to live as the Lord pointed out to us. It’s not a
particularly easy way, but Jesus never said it would be. In fact he
said it is the narrow road.
Our
faith is what guides us along this difficult path and helps us to
keep going, because our faith tells us that it’s worth while.
Otherwise why would we bother to try and be different? Trying to live
as a Catholic is what this journey is all about for us. It’s not
about rules and regulations, it’s about a relationship with God.
The rules and regulations and all the moral problems, they come
afterwards. When our faith is alive, then these things fall into
place. If we start off by focusing on the controversial issues, then
we will miss the point and our faith will never grow. Our
relationship with God is what comes first. Everything else is
secondary.
What
is the worst situation that you’ve ever been through? Maybe a
death, or a separation. If you had no faith at all, it would be very
hard to keep going, because you would have no hope, but we believe
that God will see us through.
In
this Gospel an interesting thing happens. Jesus let his three closest
men see his glory. He let them have a glimpse of who he really was.
He showed them that he was God. This happened just before Jesus went
to Jerusalem and was arrested, tortured and killed. Do you know why
he did this? He showed Peter, James and John his true splendour as
God so that they would have hope. They were about to become very
confused and disillusioned when he was killed. Everything they had
come to believe in was about to appear to fall apart right before
their eyes. So he gave them this vision to keep them going and it is
also a reminder for us of the hope that we have.
I
think it’s lovely to see Jesus giving these men hope even before
they needed it. We usually turn to God when we get in trouble, but
here, Jesus is anticipating what they will need. He is ahead of them,
providing for them and the Lord does the same for us even though we
may not be able to see it.
‘This
is my chosen Son. Listen to him.’
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