Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 11 August 2013

Fr Robin Gibbons

19th Sunday of the Year C

I don’t know about you, but I often get called to explain what I understand by faith. ‘What’s your faith about?’ is one of the most frequent questions. Being a priest and a theologian I ought to have an answer ready, rather like GK Chesterton’s famous Fr Brown, who in gentle but serious tones always managed to pull out from somewhere a quote or example that came straight from St Thomas to explain the workings of God in human affairs. But I am neither GK Chesterton nor Fr Brown, for I sometimes find it difficult to express in simple terms what my own faith is about. Maybe it’s because I fear missing the point or perhaps anticipate a robust and very rational reaction (especially if it’s a skeptical friend!).

But I am not lost; today’s reading from the letter to the Hebrews answers the question of faith better than I can. That lovely image of Abraham and Sarah and their descendents is about the faith and trust of those countless number of witnesses, surrounding us in the communion of the holy ones, who answered the call of God. The language of that passage is so beautiful, by faith they obeyed the call, always looking forward in hope. Sarah like so many believed in the promise made her by God. All of them facing death were confident that God would raise them up, in that great hope they welcomed the coming of the Kingdom.

That’s it, my faith is a journey of trust, where I try to follow the voice of the shepherd who calls me to encounter him and live out his commandments of love with others. That means I must also be a witness to the Kingdom of God, present now amongst us and live by its values. To enable us to do this, Jesus gives us helps and comforts us with these words, ‘There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your father to give you the Kingdom’.

In his message on world mission day we are called by Pope Francis to have the courage to bear witness to our faith, to the Kingdom and our love of the Lord Jesus in our daily lives; ‘’We must always have the courage and the joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter with Christ, and being heralds of his Gospel”.

Fr Robin Gibbons is an Eastern Rite Chaplain for the Melkite Greek Catholics in Britain.