Do you know what the astrology is? It is the study of the movements and relative positions of celestial objects as a means for divining information about human affairs and terrestrial events. I guess those who were in the city last night for the White Night Melbourne 2016 didn’t see much of the sky due to the dazzling spectacle of colours but in the reading from the Book of Genesis for this Second Sunday of Lent we see Abram, whose name God will change to Abraham some time later, looking into the sky. However apart from attempting to count the starts up there Abram does something else. He is listening to what God speaks to him. That’s why this passage from the Bible is not about astrology. It is about listening to God. What was the result of Abram’s listening to God? We read in the Genesis: “Abram put his faith in God.” It is a very significant moment in the Bible. If you start reading the Scriptures from the page one you will discover that the Chapter 15 of Genesis, which we had for this Mass, speaks for the first time about someone who believed God. It speaks about Abram who put his faith in God. There is a Hebrew word which captures this act of faith and you all know this word: Amen.
What happened on that night when Abram was executing his divided attention, as he was watching the stars and listening to God, reveals to us how faith happens in us. It comes from the listening to the Word of God. Once a teenager said to me: “You know Father, Mass would be much better if you skipped the readings and your talk.” I responded: “I appreciate your constructive criticism of my homilies but when it comes to Scripture readings they are crucial to us. Without them, without the Word of God, you would never be able to look at the host and say it is Jesus.”
Let me stress it again: We believe, we put our faith in God because God has spoken to us first. However it is not a piece of magic or hypnosis. God can speak to us and we don’t end up having faith, because faith needs our personal adherence to God. It is not something private but something that engages our whole existence. It means that when I look at the host at Mass I not only say: It is Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, but I also desire to live such a life that in me others can see Jesus. Why? Because Jesus’ life is the life; the life which gives us peace, fulfilment and meaning. That’s why when a minister of Holy Communion elevates a host or a chalice in front of us saying: “The Body of Christ. The Blood of Christ.” We respond by saying: Amen. It means that we believe that it is Jesus, but it also means that we believe that with God’s grace we can live such a live that there is no discrepancy between what we profess and what we live.
I would also like to draw your attention to the last word of the Creed we recite every Sunday and Solemnity. It is again: Amen. This Amen is like your signature on a statement. After having gone through all those articles of the Creed you say that it is your way of life, that in the past week, with God’s grace, you have strived to live them and that in the coming week, with God’s grace, you will continue to do live that Creed.
To finish let me take you to the final Book of the Holy Scriptures, the Book of the Apocalypse. Let’s go to the very last word of that Book which is Amen. It means that after having read, listened and shared the Word of God contained in this Sacred Work of the Holy Spirit the only thing we can say is Amen. I believe in each and every word there, for God’s Glory, for my salvation and for the inspiration of others.
What happened on that night when Abram was executing his divided attention, as he was watching the stars and listening to God, reveals to us how faith happens in us. It comes from the listening to the Word of God. Once a teenager said to me: “You know Father, Mass would be much better if you skipped the readings and your talk.” I responded: “I appreciate your constructive criticism of my homilies but when it comes to Scripture readings they are crucial to us. Without them, without the Word of God, you would never be able to look at the host and say it is Jesus.”
Let me stress it again: We believe, we put our faith in God because God has spoken to us first. However it is not a piece of magic or hypnosis. God can speak to us and we don’t end up having faith, because faith needs our personal adherence to God. It is not something private but something that engages our whole existence. It means that when I look at the host at Mass I not only say: It is Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, but I also desire to live such a life that in me others can see Jesus. Why? Because Jesus’ life is the life; the life which gives us peace, fulfilment and meaning. That’s why when a minister of Holy Communion elevates a host or a chalice in front of us saying: “The Body of Christ. The Blood of Christ.” We respond by saying: Amen. It means that we believe that it is Jesus, but it also means that we believe that with God’s grace we can live such a live that there is no discrepancy between what we profess and what we live.
I would also like to draw your attention to the last word of the Creed we recite every Sunday and Solemnity. It is again: Amen. This Amen is like your signature on a statement. After having gone through all those articles of the Creed you say that it is your way of life, that in the past week, with God’s grace, you have strived to live them and that in the coming week, with God’s grace, you will continue to do live that Creed.
To finish let me take you to the final Book of the Holy Scriptures, the Book of the Apocalypse. Let’s go to the very last word of that Book which is Amen. It means that after having read, listened and shared the Word of God contained in this Sacred Work of the Holy Spirit the only thing we can say is Amen. I believe in each and every word there, for God’s Glory, for my salvation and for the inspiration of others.
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