Happy Independence weekend. On Monday, a dramatic fireworks display in downtown St. Petersburg will be one of many celebrations of the Declaration of Independence, adopted on July 4, 1776 in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia brings to mind a story. Archbishop Fulton Sheen was scheduled to speak at the Philadelphia Town Hall and decided to walk from his hotel. He got lost. Some teenagers happily gave directions. One asked, “What are you doing at the Town Hall?’ and Archbishop Sheen said, “I’m giving a lecture on how to get to heaven. Do you want to come along?” The teen said, “You kidding? You don’t even know how to get to the Town Hall.” So much for a stairway to heaven.
Today’s word of God takes us back to a catastrophic time in ancient Israel. Babylonia destroyed the pillars of Hebrew life: the king was dethroned, the temple was in ashes, Jerusalem was a pile of rubble and many Hebrews were deported to what we know as Iraq. Yet in the aftermath of this disaster, the author of Isaiah speaks about a bright future. Jerusalem will prosper and flourish. A miracle!
Centuries later, Jesus inaugurated new purpose in life through his horrendous death and glorious resurrection. Because Jesus lives, we live—a miracle! Yes, our citizenship is in heaven. That is our future. The question is: does our life reflect this citizenship?
Paul, in his letter to the Christian community in Galatia (Turkey today), proclaims that through the death of Jesus on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb we have salvation, life eternal. And so, Gentile Christians don’t have to observe Jewish practices. Paul argues that God through the life-giving waters of baptism has transformed us into “new creatures,” living temples of God, alive with the life of God within us.
Paul preached that the power of God enabled him to endure all kinds of hardships for the sake of the Gospel. That same power of God enables us to practice a life of virtue—self-discipline, honesty, responsibility, integrity, courage, friendship, compassion, and above all faith in God.
In the Gospel, Jesus sends seventy-two disciples to continue his saving and healing work. They are to “travel lightly” and trust always in God's unconditional love for them. And they reported back how they witnessed to the power of God with healings of the sick.
Now what does it mean to witness? It’s not simply seeing or saying something is true but if I experience it. I testify to what I experience. For example, I ate pasta at Mazzaro’s. I went to a Ray’s baseball game. I saw the bolts at a play-off game.
The disciples were witnesses in that sense. They walked with the Risen Christ, broke bread with him, prayed. Peter reached for Jesus’s hand. Doubting Thomas put his finger into Jesus’s side. The disciples were with the Risen Christ. And so Peter could preach, “This Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.”
We too are called to be witnesses to Jesus Christ, gloriously alive. We testify each Sunday to our core Christian beliefs: the mystery of the triune God, this global faith community in which the fullness of Christ dwells, life after death. Yet what people look for -- how we can evangelize effectively -- is to become a visible sign of God’s grace and presence through our lifestyle and behavior.
The heroes and heroines of Christianity experienced God in their daily lives: Francis and Clare of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Mother Teresa, and many more. God gifts us with faith so that we can be witnesses to Him. We live by faith if you think about it.
Many of you may have seen the comic strip "Peanuts": a series of often profound thoughts. One of my favorite faith concepts was expressed by the character Lucy, who asked "Dear God, if I gave all my love away could I have a refill?"
Yes, faith is a gift from God that helps us to refill with God's love. And the price at that tank remains constant.
Faith empowers us to live in a right relationship with the triune God as creator, redeemer and sanctifier. Faith enables us to follow Jesus as our way to eternal life, our truth who sets us free from falsehoods, and our light illuminating our journey to our heavenly home.
From faith comes a confidence about life. We trust in God's unconditional love for us, a God who is always near to us. This confidence comes from realizing we have a purpose, and that's why we nurture that relationship with God, holding onto our beliefs, taking risks in service to others. Successes convince us that it is possible to succeed in the future. Failures also tell us it is possible to go on. Both involve divine providence, as we see in the scriptures.
So, this weekend as we celebrate Independence, let us also embrace our total dependence upon a Creator God who endows us all with divine life. We are in the hands of an all-good God who ultimately will achieve His purpose. And to this divine providence, and to Jesus Christ, gloriously alive, may we joyfully witness in our daily lives. Amen.
