Freshness of Faith

Seeing through younger eyes of faith

10/13/2019

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

It always helps to look at things from a new perspective, from a different angle, through another person’s eyes. And a good joke often does exactly that: it gives us an unexpected and humorous way to see something, and it’s refreshing. I came across this joke recently. A Jesuit, a Dominican, and a Franciscan were walking along an old road, debating the greatness of their respective orders. Each insisting theirs was greater than the others. Suddenly, an apparition of the Holy Family appeared in front of them, with Jesus in a manger and Mary and Joseph praying over him. The Franciscan fell on his face, overcome with awe at the sight of God born in such poverty. The Dominican fell to his knees, adoring the beautiful reflection of the Holy Trinity embodied in the three persons of the Holy Family. The Jesuit walked up to Joseph, put his arms around his shoulder, and asked, “So, have you thought about where to send him to school?”

As you probably know Jesuits are famous for their schools of higher learning, like Georgetown, Boston College, Fordham, and Gonzaga, not to mention all the schools that have “Loyola” in their name. I share that joke about Jesuit schools because their ultimate goal is as an educational institution is to give students a new perspective namely, to see with the eyes of faith. Faith is really the highest kind of higher learning. Jesus said in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I make all things new.” The perspective of faith is always fresh, unexpected, and therefore, heaven will never be old or boring but new and exciting. I also share that joke because I am sort of standing in the shoes of that Jesuit and am here to ask you the same question he posed to St. Joseph: “So, have you thought about where to send your child to school?” I would highly suggest sending your children to Trinity Junior High, as many of you already do. Thank you!

In the gospel today, we see another way to catch a different perspective, that is, through the eyes of foreigners or strangers, what natural born citizens often miss. Jesus is walking through Samaritan territory on his way from Galilee (which is in the north of Israel) to Judea (which is in the south of Israel). Ten lepers approach our Lord and beg him to heal them. They are all cleansed but only the Samaritan returns to say thanks. Jesus must have felt a deep pang of disappointment when he asked: “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Presumably, the other nine were Jews who had been healed and maybe even expected a miracle from their Messiah. God is supposed to heal his chosen people. Archbishop Fulton Sheen said very insightfully: “Jewelers get used to seeing fine diamonds,” and not only Jews but Christians can get used to the treasure of our faith and take it for granted. Sometimes, it takes a foreigner who comes to the faith later in life – a convert to Catholicism instead of a cradle Catholic – to open our eyes to the great gift sitting in our laps. We all need to see things with new eyes, especially with the eyes of faith that “makes all things new.”

Thank you for letting me celebrate the weekend Masses here at Jenny Lind and Barling and talk about Trinity and take up a second collection. One of the things I love about Catholic schools is how the students help me see with new eyes. At a recently school Mass at an elementary school, not Trinity, I heard this story. One of our first graders was at Mass and the homily was a little long and beyond his comprehension. Suddenly, he noticed the red lamp in the sanctuary next to the tabernacle. He was mesmerized by the warm, red glow and couldn’t take his eyes off it. He suddenly tugged his father’s sleeve and asked, “Daddy, when the light turns green, can we go?” See how a change of perspective can refresh our tired faith? Don’t expect the light to turn green anytime soon.

At the junior high level, our students surprise me with their questions about faith and morality and Christian living. They want clear and cogent answers to their tough questions about same-sex marriage, why euthanasia and abortion are wrong, is vaping and tattooing immoral, how to love and respect their parents while developing their own ideas and independence, how to hear God’s voice in this loud and proud world, and what is the ultimate meaning of their life or is there any meaning? No wonder the teen suicide rate continues to climb. They are not satisfied with the answers I learned in the seminary 25 years ago, before there were even smart phones or I-pads. They are searching for new answers to their new questions.

Jesus even told us such situations would arise in Mt. 9:17, teaching: “People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the skins burst, the wine spills out and the skins are ruined. Rather, they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Our junior high students help me to see with new eyes, because their questions are like new wine that demand I provide them with answers that are like new wineskins. And that renews and refreshes my own faith because I begin to see through their eyes. Hopefully, they are not drinking any of that wine; but they are drinking of the kool-aid of the unchristian culture in which they live.

My friends, how does your faith feel these days? Has your spiritual eyesight grown tired or weary or dim or even dark? Maybe you need to hear a good joke about the Jesuits, or pray for a miracle of healing like the lepers, or talk to a recent convert to Catholicism, or help Catholic school students with bright young eyes full of faith. When you do those things you see things from a new angle, a different perspective and see through the ever-young eyes of faith. You feel what Isaiah prophesied at the beginning of his Book of Consolation, saying: “They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength, they will soar on eagles’ wings; They will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint” (Is. 40:31). That feeling of soaring on eagle’s wings is the freshness of faith.

Praised be Jesus Christ!