Father Rick Bolte's Homily

B:19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Part of the problem is simply willpower; we don’t have enough of it to follow all we think we need to.  Sometimes more seriously and deeper is that we have issues with God. Because we are not supposed to have issues with God and by faith believe God is always right, we often try to ignore these issues. But like any relationship, ignored issues don’t just go away. In our relationships with our spouses and close friends, ignored issues become a wedge between us and push the relationship to be more about externals; we say and do the right words and actions but without meaning in our hearts. This happens in our relationship with God. When ignoring issues we fall into emphasizing the externals of our faith and even argue these as if these were the essential concerns.

So what are these issues we might ignore? Jesus teaches us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” He tells us that we must forgive the same offender seventy-seven times. He tells us it is hard for those with many possessions and those wise in the ways of the world to find salvation. Indeed we are called to lose our life to follow him. Our Church further teaches us things difficult to hear. We are told how to keep holy the Sabbath Day. We often have problems with the Church’s teaching on sexual morality and marriage. Ignoring these types of issues doesn’t make them go away but instead allows them to undermine the closeness of our relationships.

We can’t take our faith cafeteria style where we pick and choose what we want to believe. But that doesn’t mean that we can accept everything with the same conviction and faith. Those issues we don’t easily accept we need to spend time with. Some we can resolve with a little research. The internet, as much as we hear about bad information and sites, is a very useful tool for investigating scripture and what the Church really teaches. I know for myself, and I think this is true for most priests, I am more than happy to answer email questions about scripture and the practice of our faith. But the more serious issues aren’t so easily resolved. Just like the more difficult issues between spouses and close friends, there are some issues that take more time and effort. There are issues that call for us to move beyond what we think and instead try to experience it from the other’s perspective. This is as true of our faith as it is of our important relationships.

When many others have left Jesus, as we hear in today’s gospel, Peter reaffirms his faith in the midst of his own doubt. We know from the scriptures that Peter and all the Apostles had difficulty with what Jesus taught. His faith told him that Jesus indeed had the words of eternal life. Like Peter, our affirmation of faith is not about certain understanding of all that Jesus taught. However it is a statement of relationship; that he believes is who Jesus is and will wrestle actively with all that Jesus taught. We too can affirm our faith. A “Yes” that isn’t about total understanding but a commitment to grow in a relationship where greater understanding takes time. It isn’t an intellectual ascent but one that involves us as a whole person in a true and open relationship with our God!