Believe in yourself because others believe in you

Here is the text of the homily I shared with the gathered community this weekend, a reminder that we are all called to be saints, people of faith and belief because we have discovered the power of believing in ourselves through the encounter of love with One who has first believed in us.

The power of belief

On Friday of this past week, the Church observed the Solemnity of All the Saints.  The saints are an important part of the history of faith – the ones who we might refer to today as heroes - The saints were not super human persons; neither were they born perfect.  They were just like us … they lived normal lives, filled with joys and sorrows, but what makes them heroes is the fact that when they encountered God, when they experienced his love for them, they followed him with all their hearts, without any conditions.  They spent their lives in service to others because they believed that Christ’s love is for everyone.  They endured suffering and adversity without hating in return, and they responded to evil with good, spreading joy and peace.

The scriptures we have heard today also give us examples of faith.  In the gospel passage we have just read, Zacchaeus encountered God. Zacchaeus was a tax collector.  In fact, he was the chief tax collector which means that he was one of the people who was probably hated and feared by many.  Tax collectors had a reputation for being very greedy, self-centred and even conniving individuals, but something was going on in Zacchaeus’ heart.  Saint Luke tells us that he was trying to see who Jesus was.  When the scriptures speak of seeing in this way, the meaning is much deeper than simply watching someone pass by on the road like we might do with a parade or a procession.  Perhaps Zacchaeus was struggling with the fact that even though he was very rich, he was not at peace with himself.  All of us who are here today have been invited to encounter God, ever since the day of our baptism, but how many of us have truly lived an experience of this encounter?  Have you ever known a time in your life when you have experienced God’s closeness, heard his voice calling to you?  Have you ever truly wanted to see Jesus because you have tried to find peace in other places and are still searching?

 The words of the Book of Wisdom remind us today that the whole world is like a speck in the eyes of God, and yet he is present to every one of us, he is constantly waiting for us, wanting to encounter us.  Throughout the history of humanity, whenever human beings have seen Jesus and been aware that they too have been seen by him, they have experienced his love for them.  Even though each one of us is little more than a grain of sand, a speck compared with the greatness of God, he is so deeply in love with us that he takes the time to be present to each one of us, hearing our prayers, attending to our concerns and reassuring us of his love for us as though no one else mattered to him except for us.  In the week ahead, be on the lookout for circumstances in which you are particularly aware of God’s love for you, and if you have the great fortune to discover this profound love, stop for a moment, soak it in, and give thanks for this gift.

God’s love inspires us to follow him with our whole hearts, without any conditions. It makes us want to spend our lives in service to others because love needs to be shared; it’s God’s gift to each and every one of us.  The lives of saints before us have been spent sharing this love with others, and the lives of saints among us today should also be spent supporting one another in the task of sharing Christ’s love with others.  Saint Paul reminded the early Christians at Thesalonica that one of the most important ways in which we can support one another in our lives of faith is to pray for each other: to ask that our God will make us all worthy of his call.  Pray this week for those who are gathered here in this place.  Pray also for those who find it difficult to live their faith.  Some of the saints endured great suffering and adversity, but they never hated in return.  Pray that those who face such struggles today might be particularly aware of God’s love, and be able to respond with hatred or evil, but with attitudes of joy and peace, seeking always to do good for the sake of those who may not have encountered the great love of our God and come to believe – yet.