Completely Finished

Clinging to Christ in order to feel complete

08/11/2019

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile— for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

A good friend sent me this joke by email and said maybe I could use it in a homily someday. Well, we’re about to find out… It began with a question: is it “complete,” “finished,” or “completely finished”? No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words, “complete” and “finished.” In a recent linguistic competition held in London and attended by supposedly the best grammarians in the world, Samdar Balgobin, a Guyanese man, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes. The final question was: “How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand? Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.” Here’s is his astute answer: “When you marry the right someone, you are complete. When you marry the wrong someone, you are finished. And when the right someone catches you with the wrong someone, you are completely finished.” He won a trip around the world and a case of 25 year old Scotch.

I hope that joke wasn’t too off-color. But I wanted to use it in order to illustrate two critical aspects of our Christian faith. First of all, faith can be obscure and opaque (hard to discern), not straight-forward and simple, like the virtually identical words “complete” and “finished.” St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12: “We see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face,” meaning only in heaven will things be crystal clear. But secondly, faith ultimately points to Jesus, the right one who makes us feel complete, rather than to the wrong one, the Evil One, who makes us feel finished. Without faith we won’t find Jesus, and if we never find him in this life, we will feel “completely finished.” Christ alone makes us complete.

The whole bible speaks about faith either directly or indirectly on every page, but perhaps no single chapter highlights faith like Hebrews 11. If the whole bible were like a crown of faith, Hebrews 11 would be the chief gem among all the precious stones. Even the classical definition of faith is found in Hebrew 11:1, where we read: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” But I think a better translation of the original Greek is found in the Revised Standard Version, which renders that verse: “Faith is the assurance of what is hoped for and conviction of things not seen.” The words “assurance” and “conviction” seem to convey the spirit of certitude that faith alone affords.

And as if to provide an “Exhibit A” for that assurance and conviction of faith Hebrews lists Abraham at the top of the all-star list of men of faith in the Old Testament. For instance, faith allowed Abraham to leave his homeland and settle in the Promised Land. Faith helped Abraham believe he would have heirs even though he was well past child-bearing age, well into his eighties. Faith gave Abraham the fortitude to sacrifice his only son Isaac, when commanded by God. And faith even afforded Abraham hope in the resurrection of Isaac if he had been sacrificed. In other words, faith aided Abraham to discern and decide rightly in dark and difficult moments, and faith helped him to find the Right One (God) and feel complete, rather than the Wrong One (Satan) and feel finished.

My friends, how does your Christian faith feel these days? Do you feel “complete” or does your faith feel “finished”? I am convinced that we Catholic Christians who live in the west are undergoing a profound crisis of faith. We are like those poor people who showed up at the linguistic competition in London and cannot tell the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in terms of our faith. What do I mean? I believe a crisis of faith spurs the lack of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We are blessed by vocations from other countries – like Fr. Chandra – but why don’t our own sons want to be priests and our own daughters want to be nuns? That is a crisis of faith. This past summer St. Boniface School closed, and it broke my heart. In 1973 St. Anne High School closed and in 1968 St. Scholastica Academy closed. Why? Yes, it was a lack of money and low enrollment, but ultimately I believe it was a lack of faith. We chose other things over faith. Why do so many millennial Catholics no longer attend Mass and on surveys list themselves as “nones,” meaning their religious is “none in particular”? A recent poll showed the rise of “nones” had reached 23.1% of the American population. Yes, the clergy sexual abuse and the Church’s stand on homosexuality contribute to it, but in the final analysis it is a crisis of faith.

But towering over all these crises and complexities and conundrums stands the ancient faith of Abraham, like a kind of Mt. Everest, looking down at the surrounding peaks. And Abraham assures us like Jesus in Mt. 17:20: “Faith can moves mountains.” I am convinced that if we walked in the footsteps of Abraham, the father of faith, the clergy shortage, the scarcity of nuns, the closing of Catholic schools, the exodus of youth from the Church, would be solved overnight. But sadly we walk by sight and not by faith.

In case you’re wondering how do you get more faith? Simple: you pray for it, you beg for it, you plead for it, and then you wait for it. Why? Well, because ultimately faith is a gift not an on-line purchase you get at the click of a button. Rather, God gives faith freely to whom he pleases and as generously as he pleases. We cry out like the father of the boy possessed by a demon in Mk. 9:24: “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.” And then we pray and fast as we wait for faith as Jesus instructed the people to do to drive out the stubborn demon of unbelief. That possessed boy was feeling “finished” because he was with the Wrong One, but his father had found faith in Jesus, the Right One, and so the father felt “complete.” Faith is assurance and conviction that leads to a relationship Jesus. Only Christ makes us complete.

Now can you tell the difference between the words COMPLETE and FINISHED? Don’t wait until you die to figure out that difference, because by then your chances to figure it out will be completely finished.

Praised be Jesus Christ!