This Sermon is prepared by
Rev.Fr.Peter Jayakanthan sss
Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament
Corpus Christi Catholic Church,
Houston, Texas, US
27th Sunday of Ordinary YearWilling to Wait: A Faith experience….!Hbk1:2-3;2:2- 4, IITm1:6-8,13-14 Lk 17:5-10Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus, a warm welcome to one and all to this Eucharistic Celebration. It is this Lord’s Day and this gathering and this breaking of bread unites us with the whole church. It also allows us to trace our faithful practice down from the early Christian community. So, our gathering is not a week-after-week repeated action; rather it is a real renewal of call to gather as a community in the real presence of Eucharistic Lord Jesus. It invites us to examine our faith and strengthen our bond with our brothers and sisters, and to live our life meaningfully, sincerely and joyfully. We shall remember the people of the Holy Land at this Eucharist, and pray that their faith will prove strong against all sorts of threats and violence.How long should we wait for the end of ISIS’ violent power and destruction? How long can we wait to see lasting peace in the Holy Land? How long will it take to have a nuclear peace deal in United Nations? How long can I wait for a job? How long do I have to wait for doctor’s appointment? How can I find the patience to wait for the results of my medical testing? We are not ready or willing to wait for anything in our lives, because we want things to happen according to our wishes, our plans and our expectations. We want our schedule to go regardless of what is happening around us. This is our rational view and attitude. We don’t desire to follow God’s timetable for our lives. We fail to listen to our heart. A few years ago, I was called into the labor and delivery ward at the request of young parents. I was there by 11:00 am and spent time with this young couple, who was so religious, pious and committed. They were waiting for the birth of their third baby, and they called me to ask if I would be available for an emergency Baptism. When I asked for the reason, I learned they had a 6-year-old boy, a 4-year-old girl and now this third baby, who, they were told, had multiple abnormalities of its internal organs. They were told the baby may not be born alive, and if it was, it would not live very long at all. They were willing to wait for God’s time with full faith, and wanted baptism at the bedside if the baby had life. I assured them I would return, when the time for the birth grew near. I checked in on them twice before I left hospital at 5pm. I received a call around 11 pm that it was time and I returned to the hospital. I was in the labor and delivery with the couple and the medical team. When the doctor delivered the baby she said, “Here is another masterpiece of God, the baby has life!” After the baby was washed, I offered the sacrament of Baptism. When I came out and passed through waiting room, at midnight, almost 20 family members were waiting and they asked me about the baptism. I responded that the baby had been born breathing, so we baptized at the bedside. They all clapped together. The baby passed away after about 40 minutes, but the faith of this couple and their family was a lesson for me to wait patiently and willingly for God’s plan. The prophet Habakkuk cried out, how long Lord, how long should we wait? This cry was in response to the Assyrians’ occupation of Israel and the unjust power of Jehoiakim and the relaxed reform succeeding Josiah in Judea. Babylonia was also set to infiltrate Jerusalem. Habakkuk cried out for the Lord to look at the goodness and faith of some of the people. Yahweh responded, “The active faith of a just man will keep one alive till my time.” Facing and undergoing suffering with the willingness to wait for God’s time is active faith. The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith and Jesus responded by commanding them to imbibe the quality of faith, not the quantity of faith. Quality of faith is not being like useless servants, doing just the minimum rather than offering the maximum. Offering maximum commitment is willingly waiting for things to happen according to Jesus’ time. Willingly waiting means: staying where we are, going through pain, confusion, dilemma, suffering, and uncertainty, while looking toward His time. Joseph waited 30 years, Abraham 25 years, Moses 40 years and Jesus 30 years. They all waited for God’s time, while willingly facing times of great struggle, in His salvation history. Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, speaks about of her active faith. Having lost her mother when she was just four years old, and feeling devastated when her older sister left for the convent, St. Therese live just 24 years. In utter loneliness and desperation, and wishing to become a missionary, she joined religious life at just 14 after being granted special permission. But she was confined to four walls and suffered from multiple ailments and constant pain. Her last words before her death: “What grace it is to have faith! If I had no faith, I would have inflicted death on myself without hesitating a moment!” “Faith is taking the first step even you don’t see the whole staircase” - Martin Luther King, Jr. “Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that Faith is his twin brother.” - Khalil Gibran. Alexander Solzhenitsyn had been in the Gulag, a Soviet prison camp. He had been forced to do back-breaking labor until he came to the point of exhaustion. The following was found written on a cellar wall in Cologne (Köln) after World War II: I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I feel it not. I believe in God even when he is silent. When Solzhenitsyn saw the cross, he knew God had not forsaken him. He knew God was right there beside him in his deepest pit. Are we willing to wait for His time? Shall we face the reality till then offering maximum service and commitment? Let this lively faith keep us fully alive. -Amen. 
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