Homily for Thursday, 4 December 2014– Memorial of St. Barbara

Thursday of the 1st week in Advent

Readings of the day: Isaiah 26:1-6; Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a; Matthew 7:21, 24-27

This homily was given during a Mass for the intentions of my grandmother, Barbara Schmidt. Although the Memorial of St. Barbara, a Roman martyr of whose life little is known outside of legend, was suppressed from the Roman (Church) calendar in 1969, her unofficial feast day is December 4. This day is officially the optional memorial of St. John of Damascus.

In whom do we trust? What differentiates the people of whom Jesus speaks in our Gospel reading who call out, “Lord, Lord” from those who trust and act according to God’s will; the people who build their houses “on rock” versus “on sand,” so to speak?

Would it not be great if we were always able to answer that we trust in God; that our will is always that of God; that the house of our faith is built on rock and not on sand?

We know of so many influences that draw us away from trusting fully in God; from doing the will of God; from co-operating in building up God’s reign of justice and peace; charity, goodness, and mercy on earth. These influences are cultural and social, economic, political, and moral. To do God’s will; to build up God’s kingdom on earth; to live a Christian life of faith is not easy.

And yet I think we do quite well here. After all, we are here. For every reason of which we can think not to trust in God; not to do God’s will, we see in our parish; our city; our nation; our world many holy, self-sacrificial ways in which people show trust in God. We know people among us who act, even heroically, according to God’s will of justice, peace, charity, goodness, and mercy.

But, I also think, we need the constant reminder, for those who trust in God and act according to God’s will, to keep it up with the support of our prayers as Church. And, for those who have failed to trust in God or to do God’s will, we need the reminder that God is merciful; that God invites us to repent; once again to trust in God and to do God’s will.

The tension between influences that draw us toward and away from trust in God and acting according to God’s will is not new. It has long been so easy simply to call out, “Lord, Lord,” and not to act to build God’s reign on earth. It is easy to trust that we have “a strong city”; to “trust in princes”; to trust in military might; to trust in other worldly institutions, and not to trust as fully in God as we are called to do as Christian disciples.

Our first reading from Isaiah says, “Trust in the LORD forever.” Our Psalm says, “It is better to take refuge in the LORD… O LORD, grant salvation”! These are prayers of saints; of people who have trusted in God and done God’s will despite many ways in which we can be drawn away from God.

We can look to the martyrs as ultimate examples of people who have given their lives to trust in God and to do God’s will. We can look to St. Barbara, whose feast we celebrate today. Without doubt we can look to many among ourselves as examples of people who trust in God; who have built their houses of faith “on rock”; who build God’s reign on earth; who are examples of God’s justice, peace, charity, goodness, and mercy.