“Do You Not Yet Have Faith?” by Melanie Rigney
Saturday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. (Hebrews 1:1-2)
Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel; he has come to his people. (Luke 1:68)
Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” (Mark 4:38-40)
Piety
Jesus, help me to keep the faith.
Study
I saw the message before I saw the friend request: “Please pray for me. I had breast surgery for the removal of cancer and am having anxiety.” I don’t know her at all, virtually or in the real world; she lives nearly two thousand miles away. I checked our friends in common; there were eight, and several of them had kindly posted “thanks for the invite, praying!” on her page.
So, I got judgey.
Where was her faith? I wondered. Why was she reaching out to total strangers who showed up in her suggested friends list? My prayer list is burgeoning right now, as yours may be: real-world friends with sick parents; with parents who have died recently; with spouses whose bodies are filled with cancer, with very real worries about their children, their jobs, their own health. Why would I add a stranger to the list?
Then I thought, where was my faith, that one simple request took me immediately into windy Pharisee-land?
So, I stopped. I prayed for her as she requested.
And there was great calm.
Action
Pray for someone whose words and actions or lack thereof tempt you to go into Pharisee-land.
Image credit: Dimitris Vetsikas from Pixabay:; https://pixabay.com/
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