MAY OUR FAITH
BE FRUITFUL AND STRONG
BE FRUITFUL AND STRONG
I read recently about how our memories sometimes play
tricks on us. Years after some difficult struggle, which at the time seemed
unbearable, we scarcely recall how trying things were. That is why people can
so easily refer back to the "good old days." More often than not,
they were not really good, but memory had mercifully cast its veil over the
unpleasantness. This is especially true if the struggle was worth it.
The letter to the Hebrews was written after the original
"good old days" of Christianity, probably between the years 80 and 90
AD. Many of the people to whom this letter was addressed had gone through
terrible persecutions, but had survived. Now for some reason they had grown
discouraged and lax in their faith. They needed to recall former times when
they were more heroic, not with a sense of nostalgia, but with a realization
that their old zeal and enthusiasm could be recaptured. We are not sure what
their present problem was, but the author of the letter wanted them to
recognize that any effort needed to rejuvenate themselves should be put forth.
Effort in the present would bring about satisfaction in the future, because God
responds to that effort.
Something of this same idea is contained in the words of
Jesus in the Gospel. The most difficult time of farming is when the seed must
be sown. Once that work has been completed, the farmer can look forward to the
harvest. And the day of harvest makes him forget all the backbreaking work that
preceded it. In our parable today a
farmer also plants seed. After the hard work of the planting, he relaxes; he
moves forward.
If we really look through the years of our own lives, we
too can see the hard times of our labor and how that labor produced fruit in
our lives. It has brought us to where we are today in faith, life, and
relationships. There are many times that we have planted a seed in things,
loved ones, and friends. Let us never be afraid to try and do what is good, the
thing that makes a positive difference in lives and in our world. Let us never
be afraid to help one another and spread the good news of the Gospel. We need
always to share God's love in a world that wants Him out. We need to keep our
spiritual bearings and stayed focus on God and where we are heading. We are
heading to the resurrection, to our heavenly home.
When we have bad days, we can all look back on some past
experience and remember that God got us through. That realization should give
us encouragement in the present and hope for the future. The harvest God will
grant us is worth any struggle now.
In our responsorial palm today we pray, "The salvation
of the just comes from the Lord" (Ps 37). It is the hand of the Lord who
sustains us so our faith can be fruitful and strong throughout our journey!