Faith: A Commitment To The Truth

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Saturday of 18th Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, August 7th, 2021
Texts: Deut. 6:4-13; Ps. 18:2-4.47.51ab;  Mtt.17:14-20
Jesus, today, uses two words to describe the state of His disciples: faithless and perverse. Considering how close they were to Jesus, one cannot but wonder why Jesus described them as faithless. Calling them faithless tells us that faith is not loyalty but a kind of commitment to the truth. Faith in Jesus is a commitment to the truth about Him. This is clear in today's first reading when it is said, _"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."_ Moses went further to tell them the truth they are to commit to thus: " _And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."_ The words are the truth to which they must commit themselves, keeping and teaching them. Their commitment to the truth is their commitment to God.
The truth about Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. The disciples were yet to come to term with the truth that Jesus was God in human flesh.
They were faithless because they were perverse. Their perversion was not that of moral perversion but intellectual perversion; their knowledge of Jesus Christ was not correct.  Even Peter, who confessed that Jesus was the Christ, Son of the living God, could not understand what it meant to be the Christ (Mtt. 16:13-23). When knowledge is incorrect what we see as Faith becomes a commitment to falsehood. Faith that is based on falsehood is ineffective. Such faith is not in Jesus Christ.
The disciples are faithless because of their perverse knowledge of Jesus. This reminds us to get our knowledge of Jesus Christ right. If we get our knowledge of Jesus right and know that He is God in the flesh, we will be able to tap from His divine power. We cannot based our faith on Him as man only and yet expect a connection to His divine power. It is by His divine power that miracle can be wrought.
The command to love God with our whole heart, our whole soul and our whole might means we are to love God with our feelings, the power of our soul and our strength. Our feelings must bow to God, our souls must long for Him and we must hold on to Him with our whole might. We are to search for God with our whole being.

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to grasp what You have revealed to us, that we may have faith and live above the challenge of life. Amen.

Fr. Andrew  Olowomuke