Rather Than Fear, Have Faith in God

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara CSsR

Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter

St. Alfonsus Liguori Catholic Church, Greenwell Springs, LA

May 18, 2014

As we live our daily life with all the challenges and sometimes the pains it brings, one thing we need to hear is what Jesus says in the beginning of today’s gospel, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, have faith in God; have faith also in me” (John 14: 1). As we experience the many storms that life brings from time to time, Jesus urges us not to be afraid, instead believe in his Father and in him as well.

The storms of life simply speaking are those things that inconvenience us. They are those life’s experiences that bring us to tears. They trouble us and sometimes can lead to a loss of interest in life itself. The storms of life can keep us sleepless at night. In extreme situation they can lead some people to depression. They are those life’s experiences that make some people ask questions like “God, where are you?” “God, why me?” Lord, why must I suffer?” “God, have you abandoned me?” The storms of life can come in different fashions. Sometimes they come unannounced and when we least expect them. These storms of life can be emotional, psychological, spiritual, material etc. No matter one’s state of life, storms are unavoidable. From time to time, we experience one form of storm or  another. Some people even experience more than one storm at the same time. When one is confronted by the storms of life, how he or she handles it will go a long away in determining how long the storm will last. If handled wrongly, it can lead to another storm thereby multiplying the person’s misery. This is the reason why many people go through life carrying all kinds of problems without any end in sight.

It is good to sometimes think and reflect about what you have been through in life, what life has offered you. It is sometimes good to even cry for all the pains and misery you have had in life. But after all that, remember to stop at the foot of Jesus. Crying and moaning before Jesus is also a type of prayer. The Gospel of John 11:35 tells us that Jesus too wept. The Lord’s words to his disciples are directed to us: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Do not be afraid! God’s way is to be with you always. God’s truth is ever faithful love, to forever love you. God’s life is already given to you in the here and now and in eternity. So, Jesus calls us to have faith in God and to have faith in him. No matter the ugly and difficult experience, do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God who is constantly with you. Believe in Jesus who loves you with an everlasting love. In God’s own time, that pain, that sickness, that hurt will pass you by. Your painful experience today has an expiry date. Your condition today is not your conclusion. That bad experience today is not going to be your expiration. That situation is not your seat. Your financial redness today is not your residence permanently. Your physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual and material problems are just a dent in your life; and your dent is not your destination. May the cross you carry bring you the crown of glory! 

We are often told to prepare for disaster- to have food, water and communication plans. I will advise you to have such a plan so that if something were to happen we would not be caught unaware. But Jesus would want us to do something more other than take the future into our hands. He wants us to entrust our lives into God’s hands and into his hands. In the Gospel of John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This means that Jesus is not one of the many alternatives, he is the answer. He does not offer us a map, a set of directions and a compass. He offers himself. The way is personal - Jesus is the way. The truth is personal - Jesus is the truth. The life is personal - Jesus is the life. You will find life not in propositions but in a person - a particular person - Jesus of Nazareth who came to announce and inaugurate the worldwide reign of God. This Jesus is the friend of saints and sinners. He came not to condemn the world - not even his enemies - but that the world in general and those at odds with God in particular would be reconciled by his self-giving love. Jesus is the one who heals the broken-hearted without regard to eligibility, who opens his arms to the vulnerable, to lepers, and to all those on the margins. This Jesus is the one who does not foreclose anyone.

The amazing good news of the gospel is that God has opened the way to life through his Son, who invites us to cast ourselves onto him. The way we are called to follow is the path followed by Jesus. This is the way of compassion and forgiveness. The truth on which we are called to base our lives is the truth that God’s love for us is forever faithful and reliable. And the life we are promised is a life given to us by the risen Christ, a life freed from fear of death and thus all other fears. We gain life by believing him, by following his way and by trusting him more than all the powers of this world. This is the boundless generosity of God. This Jesus invites us to be free from fear. Instead of fear, believe in him. Instead of anxiety, hope in God. Instead of cynicism, have faith in him.