August 08, 2010
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jim and Jill Kelly gave a public witness of their faith at Kingdom Bound at Darien Lake. Jim said: "I want to see my son again. I want to be with my wife and see her. I want to be with my daughters in the Kingdom." Jim expressed his faith in terms of love and hope. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews (2nd Reading) understands faith as the assurance of what we hope for. This connection between faith and hope is apparent in all three passages from Scripture. Abraham and Sarah, an elderly couple, hope for family and a new home trusting in God's promise. The Hebrew people, enslaved in Egypt, hope for liberation as they treasure the living memory of God's mercy to their forefathers and mothers. Jesus, in the Gospel of Luke, speaks to Jewish leaders (and his disciples) that they should carry out the responsibilities of their office like servants awaiting the return of the their master from a wedding celebration. Anticipation of his coming heightens their fidelity. Today, I was reading an article in The Word Among Us, where a young man, now a teacher in a Christian Brothers' High School in Memphis, Tennessee, reflected on his bout with leukemia as a boy. His body had an allergic reaction to medication that brought on a dramatic decline in breathing. The doctors and nurses were frantic. Anthony recalls that when he prayed his last prayer on earth, a calm came over him as he trusted in God's providence and longed to see the loving eyes of Jesus. The hope of seeing the loving eyes of Jesus sustained him. May we continued to be a community of faith, hope and love -- trusting in God's providence and always anticipating Christ's coming at an hour we least expect.
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Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
