The Sánchez Archives NINETEENTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME Year C

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Faith, Not Fear!

WISDOM 18:6-9
HEBREWS 11:1-2, 8-19
LUKE 12:32-48

A woman once approached John Wesley (1703-1791) with an interesting question: “Suppose you knew for certain that you were going to die and meet your Maker at the stroke of midnight tomorrow. She said, “How would you spend your time between now and then?” Wesley replied, “Well madam, just as I intend to spend it now. I will preach this evening at Gloucester and again at five tomorrow morning. After that I will ride to Tewkesbury to preach in the afternoon and meet with the societies in the evening. Then I’ll go home to dinner, talk and pray with the family as usual, retire to my room at 10 p.m., commend myself to God, lie down to rest and wake up to GLORY!” When he had been similarly questioned, Martin Luther (1483-1546) replied, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my little apple tree and pay my debts.” Centuries before Luther and Wesley, Francis of Assisi (1182-1226) was hoeing his garden when one of his brothers in Christ put the same question to him. “Come what may,” he answered, “I would finish hoeing my garden.” In a sense, the scripture readings for today invite each member of the gathered assembly to become engaged in a similar reflection. What would you do if you knew that this day would be your last? What would you not do? How would you prepare to meet God? Where would you go? With whom would you spend your remaining hours?

Significantly, when Jesus challenged his disciples to lend their attention to such questions, he prefaced his teaching with a counsel against fear. “Do not live in fear,” the Lucan Jesus advised in today’s gospel. Faith, not fear, was to be the guiding force in the lives of Jesus’ disciples. Faith would enable them to set their hearts on that never-failing treasure with the Lord; faith would empower them to live in a constant attitude of preparedness, ready to recognize and welcome Jesus, who promised to return for them at a time and in a manner they would least expect. Faith would keep them aware of and attentive to their responsibilities; faith would prompt them toward the mutual love and support of their brothers and sisters which was to characterize them as Jesus’ own.

The faith of Abraham is celebrated in today’s second reading from Hebrews. Had Abraham lived in fear, he would never have ventured forth from Ur for parts unknown. He had no map, no sextant, no itinerary other than his faithful obedience to the God in whom he trusted. Had Abraham lived in fear, he would have shrunk from the responsibilities of fatherhood at his advanced age. Had fear been allowed the upper hand in Abraham’s life, he would never have become the man whom Jews, Moslems and Christians regard as their father in the faith.

Elsewhere in his writings, the author of Wisdom (first reading) referred to fear as “soul-sickening” and “ridiculous,” as he called upon his readers “not to surrender to it” (Wisdom 17:8, 12). Today, each of us who heeds his wise advise and who also admires Abraham and Sarah for their pioneering faith is called to similarly forego those fears which: cripple and stifle growth; rouse suspicions and separate us from one another and God; choose the path of least resistance rather than the frontline; settle for the status quo rather than dare to embrace the unknown; find a base of security in saving rather than in giving; prefer the lesser risk of passively waiting for the reign of God to emerge rather than the greater challenge of aggressively working for its realization.

To that end, we might do well to take those words of Francis de Sales (1567-1622) to heart: “Have no fear for what tomorrow may bring. The same loving God who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. God will either shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.”

WISDOM 18:6-9

The first century B.C.E. world within which the author of Wisdom lived was one that was fraught with a variety of fears; some were founded, others unfounded. If the consensus of scholars are correct in their opinion that this book originated in Alexandria, then one of those fears was prompted by the fact that the city was a major shipping port located on the shores of the Great or Mediterranean Sea. To assuage their fears of the perils of the sea and of the dangers of seafaring, the Alexandrians had erected a 445-foot-high lighthouse; its beacon lighted the way and provided safe passage for sailors. To avert those fears spawned by ignorance, the city was home to a prestigious university, a great museum and a lending library with over 400,000 volumes. One of the leading intellectual centers of the ancient world, Alexandria’s population of over a million inhabitants included scientists, theologians, poets, philosophers, artists and academicians. Amid this varied ethnic and cultural atmosphere existed one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. To allay the fear that their heritage be lost or that their traditions be diluted by the ever increasing and all pervasive influence of Hellenism, the author of Wisdom wrote to strengthen the faith of his Jewish contemporaries.

As Addison Wright (“Wisdom,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs” 1990) has explained, it was a time of crisis for faith; some Jews were lured by a variety of Greek religious and philosophical systems and were abandoning Judaism. Others were sinking toward a syncretism, which threatened the authenticity of their faith. Working diligently to encourage his readers to rediscover and reclaim their faith-heritage, the ancient sapiential writer led his readers on a literary journey through their history as God’s chosen people. Whereas they had been tempted to seek for wisdom in other attractive venues, the author of Wisdom was convinced that true wisdom has its origin in God. To that end, he sought to involve his readers in a midrashic exploration of their religious and scriptural roots. Midrash, from the Hebrew darash, which means to search or inquire, is an exercise in reinterpreting scripture in order to accommodate its meaning to the changing times and circumstances of a particular audience. As Pheme Perkins (Harper’s Bible Dictionary, Harper and Row, New York: 1985) has pointed out, “midrash assumes that the biblical text has an inexhaustible fund of meaning that is relevant to and adequate for every question and situation.” In this particular instance, the Wisdom author was plumbing the depths of the exodus experience in order to teach his first century B.C.E. contemporaries how they in turn could survive the threatening enslavement of Hellenism so as to retain their freedom and the faith traditions of Judaism.

“That night” (v. 6) was a reference to the night of the original passover whereupon the Jews experienced liberation at God’s hands and their adversaries were chastised (v. 8). Thierry Maertens and Jean Frisque (Guide For the Christian Assembly, Fides, Notre Dame, IN: 1972) have suggested that Wisdom’s antithesis between the lot of the Jews and that of the Egyptians was intended to contrast the plights of the idolater with that of the faithful believer. Through this antithesis, the readers of Wisdom were to learn to avoid the paths that could lead to their perdition and to cling, in faith, to the ways of their ancestors, viz., the way of salvation.

Christian readers of this text are called to rejoice in the fuller knowledge that Christ has become both the ultimate Way to life and the means of our Passover. Moreover, he is both the Way and Means of salvation for Egyptians, Jews, Greeks and all the peoples of the earth. Because of Jesus, who is Wisdom incarnate, believers can live in faith, not fear.

HEBREWS 11:1-2, 8-19

In some Christian communities, a portion of their worship service is given over to “offering witness.” Those who wish to do so address the gathered assembly for the purpose of sharing an experience of God, present and at work in their lives. This public testimony to the faith is intended to encourage, inspire and edify to other members of the congregation; the strength of such personal witnessing is often more powerful than many prepared sermons. Perhaps, this was the intent of the author of Hebrews, who in chapter 11 of his impressive contribution to the Christian scriptures, called forth a long list of witnesses; their testimony was directed to a readership comprised mainly of Jewish Christians as a “message of encouragement” (13:22). Like the recipients of the book of Wisdom, the intended readers of Hebrews were in danger of losing the gift of their faith, not to Hellenism, as was the situation which prompted the writing of Wisdom, but to a certain laxness and weariness with the challenges of Christian commitment. Aware of their growing indifference, the author of Hebrews elaborated on the priesthood and perfect sacrifice of Jesus, lest his readers surrender their faith or fervor to another priesthood or a lesser sacrificial system.

Although he probably did not intend his efforts to be understood as a definition of faith (11:1-12:13), many theologians of the early and medieval church have so interpreted it. A consensus of contemporary scholars regard today’s second reading more as a description of faith and of the spiritual attitudes and postures which necessarily evolve from and express true faith. Characterized by assurance (hypostasis) and conviction (elenchos), authentic faith is quite similar to that eager and expectant trust, which has been identified as hope. As Myles Bourke (“The Epistle to the Hebrews”, The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1950) has explained, hypostasis or assurance concerns that which is not yet present but which is confidently awaited; elenchos or conviction pertains to that which is a present reality but can be known only by faith.

A holy and wholesome balance of assurance and conviction enabled Abraham to go when he was called, to believe in the possibility of a child in spite of his many years and Sarah’s barrenness, and to be willing to surrender that child to God even when the divine request for surrender probably seemed preposterous! A similarly holy and wholesome balance of assurance and conviction would enable the initial recipients of Hebrews to shake off their laxity and weariness so as to embrace the demands of discipleship with renewed vigor. This same balance of assurance and conviction will encourage contemporary believers to emulate their ancestors in the faith and to offer to the world a witness to Christ that will be so convincing as to assure its desire for salvation.

LUKE 12:32-48

Fully aware that fear is at the root of many human difficulties, Jesus counseled his followers to live unfettered by its grip. Fear of want can foster greed and instigate hoarding. Fear of the unknown can instill a cowardice that refuses to live freely and fully. Inordinate fear of God can stifle the ability to enter into a mature and personal relationship with God. Fear of enemies, more often than not, engenders more of them. Fear of the future relegates the frightened one to live in the past, finding false refuge in nostalgia. As a remedy for these crippling and twisted fears, Jesus recommended faith and trust in the God who loves each believer, sees to every need and wills only goodness and blessings.

The Lucan recommendation of faith was issued amid the compilation of parables and sayings on vigilance which comprise today’s gospel. As Luke Timothy Johnson (The Gospel of Luke, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN: 1991) has noted, this recommendation was based on the premise that God has already established the divine reign, i.e. “given the kingdom” (v. 32); therefore, people of faith do not live in a world of chaotic chance, but in a world governed by the gracious gift of God. Because believers have been so fundamentally gifted, they can live free of fear and freely share who they are and what they have with others.

At the heart of today’s gospel is the parable of the watchful servant. Obviously, at its first level of development, the parable was directed at Jesus’ contemporaries, challenging them to recognize in him their master and messiah and to open the door of their hearts to welcome him in faith. The reference to fastened belts and lamps burning ready (v. 35) recalled the preparedness for action which was legislated for Israel in the Passover ritual (Exodus 12:1). Just as the Israelites were to be ready to pass from slavery to freedom, so were the disciples to live in a state of alertness to recognize and accept the Passover from sin and death to forgiveness and life which Jesus offered.

In the Lucan community of the eighties C.E., and at its second-level of development, this parable issued a call to readiness and alertness as regards Jesus’ second coming. Just as the master in the parable waited at table for the servants who were alert to welcome him, and just as Jesus, during his ministry, welcomed to table fellowship and offered the saving sustenance of his very body and blood to his own, so also at his second coming would Jesus preside as host to welcome the faithful to the messianic banquet of salvation.

Peter’s question in verse 41 introduces into today’s gospel a further lesson concerning the mutual care and service that should characterize those who await Jesus’ return in glory. Those who live by faith and not in fear are to conduct themselves as conscientious stewards. At its first stage of development, verses 41-48 were, no doubt, leveled at the scribes, Pharisees and other religious authorities whose stewardship of the people was frequently deserving of criticism. When the Lucan community accommodated this message to his own situation, the stewardship under scrutiny was that of the leaders in the church. Theirs was to be a leadership characterized by careful love and expressed in selfless service. Twentieth century disciples of Jesus are similarly charged with a universal and indiscriminant stewardship which is to be exercised generously and without stinting, particularly as regards the poor, needy, marginalized and otherwise neglected members of society. Such stewardship can be realized only when faith is unencumbered by fear and empowered by love.

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