Pondering Our Expectations of God (Mark 5: 21-24, 35b-43)

Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 23 of Season 7 for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time  - June 30, 2024. Our Gospel reading is from Mark Chapter 5: verses 21-24, and 35b-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith.” He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion,

people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,” which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. At that they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.

The Gospel of the Lord 

“Pondering Our Expectations of God,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

We come to this sacred place, some for the very first time, others more often, others even more often than that. And we come here because we are drawn by our faith. Our faith gathers us together. Our faith, inspired by the Holy Spirit, brings us here today. Have we ever stopped to ponder a bit what we expect out of our faith? Put another way, what do we want from God? What do we want God to do? 

As with any significant relationship in our lives, having our expectations set square and realistic is important for moving forward in that relationship. So it stands to reason then that we figure out exactly what we want God to do. What we want our faith to do. 

Let's face it: everyone here today can tell a story of disappointment or struggle or despair or challenge that they faced in their lives and are facing right now. For some, it may be the impending reality of aging.  For others who may be struggling with a marriage that has recently fallen apart. Others may have had to bury a son or a daughter. Others may be struggling with the physical ramifications and conditions of health. Others may be concerned about their work. Maybe something happening emotionally inside is captivating you. We come to this sacred place; we come to our relationship with God, with the substance of our lives, and that substance is sometimes very complicated. It's very challenging. It can bring us to our knees. We easily can find ourselves asking, why is this happening to me? What have I done to deserve this?  

As we struggle with these challenges that life brings us, what are we looking for God to do? We reach out, perhaps seeking healing, perhaps seeking consolation. We reach out, perhaps asking God to change the furniture of our lives to bring things back, perhaps, to a time before I carried this burden.  But yet we find ourselves continuing and remaining exactly where we find ourselves to be  with the burden that we carry and the struggle that we face.  

Jesus says to us,  "Do not be afraid.  Just have faith."  Faith in what?  Faith in what? 

When God does not directly intervene in our life and produce the healing or the intervention, or what we're looking for or what we're desiring, does that mean that God is absent? Or maybe God doesn't care? Or maybe I did something that deserves this treatment? Or maybe I haven't done things the right way? Haven't said the right prayers? Haven't, haven't, haven't. Or is there another way to look at faith and its role in our life? We can use the example of two very pivotal pillars of our faith. Two individuals who are at the foundation of all we treasure to be true and the faith that draws us here today to this place.  The first is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the second is the Blessed Mother...the Blessed Mother.  

Consider this for a moment. Consider the journey these two individuals had to trod. They set out on the journey to the cross, a journey that was faced with all kinds of challenges,  obstacles, injustices. Jesus was scorned, ridiculed, betrayed. The Blessed Mother had to watch her son face all of these challenges. Her heart torn apart as tears streamed down her eyes. Jesus himself cries out, "Father if it is your will, take this cup from me." But yet that cup. Remains just as the challenges and the burdens and the crosses that we have remain at times, and Jesus has to go forward. The furniture doesn't get moved around. The obstacles do not go away, and the cross, with all of its horrific ramifications, stays where it is, and things proceed as they do.  

And as we plead to God, through the tears that streamed from our eyes, so did they. But they remained unchanged. They stayed focused on what they had to do moment-to-moment. They stayed very steady on their path, always embracing love and obedience. And they remained firm because they knew what faith and faith alone can give them. That somehow, in all of this ridiculousness and all of these things that are directly opposed to God's plan, directly opposed to God's love, that somehow, even in all of that ugliness, God was still working. And they knew that if they stayed the course, if they did what was required of them, if they did not waiver that God would win. They simply had to allow God to do what God was doing. 

And you and I, as we face our struggles, as we carry our crosses, our call to do exactly that same thing. To not be afraid, to have faith. To have faith, not in God changing the furniture, because that may not happen, but to have faith that God is working, that God is working, God promised, and we believe it. Our faith tells us that death does not win. Death never wins. Evil does not win. And so bodily afflictions, our own personal failures, spiritual weaknesses, the effects of sin, all of those things which can bring us right into a place of darkness and, without the eyes of faith, lead us to despair. All of those things are minor experiences of death. Each one of them is another small disguise of death. They all cause us to leave being one way and move to being another. And God tells us that even in and in through those very difficult experiences, "I am with you." And as we embrace faith and as we hold the course and as we stand firm and as we continue in love and obedience, we find that that strength of faith increases, our courage increases, and we find within us this very deep sense of peace, knowing that it will all be well and turn out okay in the end, even though I may not see it.  

You see, we forget something very special about ourselves and that is that we each have a soul. And what we forget is that it's not just a soul that God unleashes. Each one of us is a work of God's art. We have been fashioned and made, and designed by a loving creator. A creator who has a design and mind for our soul. You see, we see ourselves today with limited vision of what today shows us. We don't see the end product, but God does. God knows what he can do with our soul if we remain firm, if we remain steadfast, if we remain courageous, and do what life asks us to do with love and obedience, staying the course and trusting that God is working because then faith increases, confidence abounds,  and love shines forth, even in the midst of struggle. And anyone who has done this in their lives can witness to what I am saying as true: that those who have hung in and have been firm with faith, trusting in God regardless of how things transpire in their life, always come out stronger, better, more faithful, and focused. Because even though there are many times in our lives where God's consolation is not necessarily available to us. We can't necessarily tap into his presence. It seems that he may be absent or inaccessible. Even in those times, the gift of faith brings us inward, and we receive an anchor that allows us to continue to cling to God, even though I may not know where that road will lead me...that anchor that clings to God. And, see, it is that anchor that brings every one of us with our own personal stories here today. We are here today because we know that it is true. We know that the light of faith is real, that God is real, and that God is working, even in the darkness and confusion of our lives, bringing about His glory and bringing us where we need to be. Do not be afraid. Have faith. 

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community at www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.