Homily 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time - June 30, 2024

 Readings for today can be found here.

            Do not be afraid, just have faith.  It’s easy to be afraid in today’s world.  You have only to watch the news to hear about wars, natural disasters, and things that can adversely affect our lives and families.  These fears cause us to worry.  I know I worry about my children.  My younger son lives in Washington, DC on his own.  He’s doing well but I want him to be safe.  My older son and his wife are thinking about starting a family.  I worry for their financial stability, their ability to buy a home, etc.  I’m sure all parents have similar worries.  Others of us may be worried about their future, such as where to go to college or what career to enter.  Some may be worried about their health or the health of a loved one.  In our Gospel, Jarius was worried about the health of his daughter.  He sought out Jesus to heal her.  Similarly, the woman was looking for healing from her affliction.  She likely worried about supporting her family.  After all, she’d spent all she had trying to get well.  They both sought out Jesus to help them.

            Jesus tells the woman that her faith has healed her and to go in peace.  When Jarius learns his daughter has died, Jesus tells him to not be afraid and just have faith.  What does it mean to “just have faith”?  I had a conversation with my spiritual advisor recently on just this question.  He was concerned that we, as clergy and homilists, were giving people simple platitudes.  If there’s some difficulty in your life, just have faith.  Trust God to provide.  That sort of thing.  But it seemed to him that people wanted more than just a simple saying.  They wanted some meat and potatoes, so to speak.  Something concrete they could do in the midst of their troubles.

            Faith is a gift from God.  God is willing to give us this gift, but we need to ask for it.  We should take time in prayer to specifically ask God to bless us with faith and to increase that faith.  Deepening our faith also requires trust in God.  How do we learn to trust God more?  Our second reading today shows us the way.  Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to be generous in their giving.  Earlier in the epistle he writes of the generosity of the Macedonians in supporting the holy ones in Jerusalem.  The Macedonians gave beyond their means in joy to serve the Lord.  Paul encourages the Corinthians to do the same.

            Father Joe preached on using our time, talent, and treasure in his homilies leading up to Pentecost.  He also spoke of being generous to others.  I believe we especially need to give of our time and talent to others.  Being available to others when they need someone to talk to.  Being charitable in the way we think and speak about others.  Using our talents to give back to the community.  God blesses us with many gifts.  If we use these gifts in the service of others, we’ll find that God will bless us even more.  We’ll find that the more we give to others, the more we trust in God to take care of our needs.  We’ll also be rewarded with the gifts of joy and peace.

            It is that joy and peace that drives away the fear and the worry.  It’s that joy and peace that helps us increase our faith.  There will be times when we’re still afraid, but our faith will get us through those times.  Our faith overcomes fear.  Faith in Jesus allowed the woman to overcome her fear and be healed.  It also allowed Jarius to believe Jesus could heal his daughter even though she had died.  We can increase our faith in Jesus by being generous to others with our time, talent, and treasure.  What is it we’re afraid of?  What can we do to increase our faith in Jesus and be healed of that fear?