A Practice Homily: Jesus I Trust In You

A Little Behind Schedule...

This "Practice Homily" Series is offered in conjunction with my journey towards becoming a Deacon in the Catholic Church. While I still have a little less than a year to go, our formation program has called us to begin writing homilies, or reflections on specific Sunday readings.

Reflection on Sunday Readings - April 7, 2013 (Second Sunday of Easter)
Acts 5: 12-16; Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24; Revelation 1:9-11A, 12-13, 17-19; John 20:19-31

Jesus, I Trust In You

A favorite song of mine, “Jesus, I Trust in You” by Catholic composers Sarah Hart and Angus McDonnell, prays the prayer of God’s Divine Mercy as given to us through His Son Jesus Christ. The song not only speaks of trust, but also echoes the challenge of today’s readings from God’s Word: “Jesus, I trust in you, giver of mercy. Jesus, I trust in you, O font of life. Healer, teacher, Savior and friend, Jesus, I trust in you... all that I am is in your hands.” (Jesus I Trust in You, spiritandsong.com - OCP Music)

Happy Easter once again to one and all! Christ has risen, alleluia, alleluia! He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. And through Him salvation comes to us all, as we are all victorious over the darkness of sin and death! Today, we are called to celebrate in the things that we can see, and believe in the miracles we cannot. Today, the healing waters that flow from the side of Christ promise to make us new again. All that we have seen and heard in the teaching and in the example of our Lord and Savior now stands before us in His resurrected glory, asking us to simply trust in Him and his divine mercy, by placing our lives in His care.

Our first reading today attests to the fact that, “many signs and wonders were done among the people at the hands of the apostles.” (Acts 5:12) They witnessed the healing power of the Good News, as many brought their sick “out into the streets” (Acts 5:15) The saw, and they believed! In the second reading, John described his revelation as hearing “a voice as a loud trumpet which said write on a scroll what you see.” (Revelation 1: 10-11) This voice of the Lord comforted his fear saying, “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld. Write down, therefore, what you have seen, and what is happening, and what will happen afterwards.” (Revelation 1: 17-19) Again, the premise here is that they will see, and believe!

Meanwhile, the song, “Jesus, I Trust in You” continues: “Let not this heart be troubled, but let it rest in you, for with you, every sorrow will be washed away. Let not my mind be burdened, but set it free with truth, for every care is lost in understanding grace. Jesus, I trust in you...” (Jesus I Trust in You, spiritandsong.com - OCP Music)

Enter the Apostle Thomas, the one who has been singled out with the label of doubt. Yes, he did put forth an ultimatum saying that, “Unless I see the mark... I will not believe!” (John 20:25) But quite frankly, Thomas represents us, for we all place ultimatums of sorts on our Church, and our Lord, as we too need to see to believe, don’t we? Why else would the Apostles need to display Christ’s healing power “in the streets” (Acts 5:15), or John be charged with writing it all down for all to see? Like us, and the demands we put on our Church, and its clergy and faithful servants, Thomas, needs to know for sure that this is real, and if it is going to be worth the trouble. But Thomas, and all of us gathered here today, need to know that the Easter victory that we celebrate is not measured by our knowledge, nor is it real because of our permission. No, the victory has been won by Christ for us all! And again, the song “Jesus, I Trust in You” continues: “As you gave up yourself, Lord into your father's hands, so let me give myself to all that is your will. And as you emptied yourself, to fulfill Love's perfect plan, let me be emptied that my life might be fulfilled. Jesus, I trust in you...” So if we are a Church that follows the teaching and example of Jesus Christ, then we must never be afraid to be willing to give of ourselves, emptying our lives so that the Father’s will can be done through our hands and feet. If we are to be witnesses of what we have seen and heard, then we too must follow our calling, living our faith out loud! Finally, not all of us are as lucky as Thomas, to be able to probe the hands and feet of our Lord. But we ARE the ones that Christ blesses when he says, “blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” (John 20:29) And we are the Catholic Christians that we profess to be, when we trust Jesus, and share our belief in the way we share ourselves: “Jesus, I trust in you, giver of mercy. Jesus, I trust in you, O font of life. Healer, teacher, Savior and friend, Jesus, I trust in you... all that I am is in your hands.” (Jesus I Trust in You, spiritandsong.com - OCP Music)