FAITH AND HOPE IN OUR SANCTIFICATION


SATURDAY, THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Heb 11:1-2,8-19; Lk 1:69-75; Mk 4:35-41

Faith sacrifices Everything for God

The statement: the just man must live by faith; is the statement the author of the letter to the Hebrews used to sum up the requirement for us to go through the necessary sanctification before we possess God’s promise. Hope is closely related to faith as an outgrowth or offshoot; it is a theological virtue enabling us to trust in God to fulfill the promise he made to us. These two theological virtues are well-defined and illustrated in the eleventh chapter of the letter. We readjust the opening statements of the chapter to delineate the definitions of these two indispensable virtues in our Christian life. As the foundation of the Christian life, the following statement defines faith. Faith is the proof of the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. These realities are heavenly realities. But faith is primarily the proof of the existence of God. It is a spiritual faculty or ability we receive from God, helping us to see and relate to him. Just as the gift of sight enables us to relate to light, and through its rays, see other sensible or physical realities around us. In the same way, the gift of faith enables us to relate to God, and by our interaction with him through grace, relate with other spiritual realities.

The second theological virtue is hope, which we consider an offshoot of faith because it is so close to it and sometimes indistinguishable from faith. This interrelatedness is evident in the passage, from the opening statement: “Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen.” With the second path taken as the definition of faith, we have the first part as the definition of hope. Hence, hope is a theological virtue that guarantees the blessings promised by God. Thus, the definition of hope presupposes faith. When we believe in God, we know him as the source of all good things to us; we must necessarily hope and wait on him to fulfil all our heavenly or spiritual desires. Though we start hoping for the satisfaction of our earthly desires, these desires are transformed into heavenly ones as we understand that we can never be happy or satisfied with physical things but by God alone. Abraham and all the people of faith realised this truth in their journey with God. “All these died in faith, before receiving any of the things that had been promised, but they saw them in the far distance and welcomed them, recognising that they were only strangers and nomads on earth.” With our natural endowments, we can solve most, if not all, of our material needs. But the satisfaction of our spiritual needs is beyond our natural ability.

The inability to solve our spiritual needs here on earth prompted all the faithful to look forward to the City of God. If it is the City of God, it is not a physical or geographical place, for God is unrestricted. Thus, we read: “But in fact, they were longing for a better homeland, their heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God since he has founded the city for them.” God founded his mystical City on the humanity of the Eternal Word. All who believe in the word of God are members of the City of God, for faith connects us to the founder of the City—the Son of David. The Canticle of Zechariah confirms this: “He has raised up for us a mighty saviour in the house of David his servant, as he promised by the lips of holy men, those who were his prophets from of old.” In the Gospel, we see Jesus Christ confirm the supremacy of the spiritual City over earthly or physical realities. “They woke him and said to him, Master, do you not care? We are going down!’ And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’” In other words, he was concerned that they could not see the real Presence with them. They were still blind spiritually. May God grant us his grace to live and exercise our faith daily.

Let us pray: Almighty ever-living God, direct our attention to your real presence through faith, that in the name of your beloved Son we may realise our consecration to you and abound in good works. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

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