Sunday Readings for August 9-10, Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Jack Treloar | For On Mission
All three readings this week speak of faith and faithfulness.
The second reading, in particular, emphasizes this when the author of the Letter to the Hebrews says, “Faith is the realization of things not seen.” Two concepts stand out in this brief sentence: “realization” and “things not seen.” To realize something is to experience a sense of completion or fulfillment. And when we speak of things not seen, we acknowledge a reality beyond what we perceive in our everyday lives.
To help us understand this idea, the author gives us a concrete example by summarizing the story of Abraham. At the command of God, Abraham left his home country for a new land. God promised him a son, even though both Abraham and his wife Sarah were elderly. God also promised that Abraham would become the father of many nations.
The common theme in all of these events is God’s request for Abraham to trust in God’s promises. This highlights an essential characteristic of faith: we must trust in God’s promises. A promise is made and then fulfilled. God never fails to keep promises made to us, just as he fulfilled his promises to Abraham with a new land, a son, and numberless offspring.
As followers of Jesus, we read the Gospels with the spirit of Abraham as our guide. This week’s Gospel tells us of the faithful servant who awaits the return of the master. The master promises to return from his trip, and he does. Just as Abraham was rewarded for his fidelity, the master rewards the faithful servant.
As we follow Jesus, we learn of the promise of eternal life. If we remain faithful to that promise, we will be rewarded. The reward far exceeds the promise made by God, just as it did for Abraham and the faithful servant.
Up to this point, we have been concerned with God’s action in the matter of faith. We must now turn to our own actions and attitudes as preparation for fulfillment of the promises made. This is where we consider how we deal with “things not seen.”
Consider an example: suppose a friend or acquaintance promises a gift or an action that will benefit us. We accept this promise with the assumption that the friend will fulfill it. This is a common human interaction. When we accept, we do not say, “Show me that you are going to do this or that.” Why should it be any different when the one who never breaks a promise assures us that he will care for us? So, our reaction should be the same as Abraham’s or the faithful servant’s.
Faith, then, is a matter of making a promise, recognizing it will be fulfilled and receiving the reward embedded in that promise.
The readings for Sunday, August 10, can be found at Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB