“When the son of man comes, will He find faith on earth?”
In all of Jesus’ parables, this is the only parable that ends with a question. Jesus is asking if we are going to have faith like the judge who believes only in himself and the world, or faith like the widow who believes wholly in God. We all put our faith in something. When you go to bed, you have faith that your alarm clock will wake you up in the morning. When you drive to work, you have faith the car you drive will get you there without breaking down, and you put faith in the other drivers that they will drive safely.
ACTIVITY – Can of Beans
Take a can of beans or corn. Hold up the can to the group and say, “What is inside of this?” Of course the answer will be beans or corn. Now take the wrapper off of the can and ask the same question, “What is inside of this?” The answer will still be beans or corn. We can each play the skeptic and wonder if the factory made a mistake and put the wrong label on the can, but why would anyone jump to that conclusion. What if we were so skeptical in the store? If we were to never buy anything and doubt everything. If we trust the label on a can, how much more so should we trust Divine Revelation? In the Act of Faith we pray, “O my God, I firmly believe that You are God in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that Your divine Son became man and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the holy Catholic Church teaches, because You have revealed them. In this faith I desire to live and die. Amen.” We believe in all the truths the Church teaches, even the difficult ones simply because God has revealed them. God can neither deceive or be deceived so what he reveals is truth and trust worthy, more trust worthy than the label on a can.
To have faith in God is to have complete trust in Him. The Centurion’s faith was so strong that, as Jesus said of him, “not even in Israel have I found such faith.”11. It is possible to be strong in our faith, but it can be difficult at times. Especially, in a world that is more and more secular and attributes all of it’s greatest works to themselves. Those that shut God out, but seek truth, which only God can provide, will fail.12
What does it mean to have faith? “Faith is our response to God.”13 Unlike the judge who only believed in himself, we believe “in things not seen”14. Faith is having a personal relationship with God through our own free will. Faith is certain. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, faith is more certain than all human knowledge. This is because it’s founded in the fullness of truth.15
Why should I have faith in God? We see that when we have true faith in God, we will be blessed. Abraham became known as the father of faith. Moses’ faith in God freed his people, and guaranteed the next generation the promise land. God is faithful to His people, so much so that the Word became Flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Faith always bears fruit.
When will Jesus come back? We don’t know. Jesus told us that we will not know the day or hour when He comes.16 Just as we don’t know when Jesus will come back, we don’t know when we will die. This means we must live our faith to the fullest each and every day. Jesus tells us that He has come that we might have life and live it to the full.17
What can I do to show faith on earth? We can pray. Just as the widow showed her unwavering faith through prayer, God calls each and every one of us to it as well. Our first duty is to pray for our Holy Father, our Bishop, our brothers and sisters, and our church.18
We should study our faith? How often are we studying the faith of the Church? How often are we going to Mass, reading the Gospels, or receiving the Sacraments?
It is said, “actions speak louder than words”. How we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ shows our true faith. Jesus showed us the way of living out our faith. As St. Francis Assisi once said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.” We must be willing to trust Him completely and live out the Gospel everyday.
What would you do if Jesus came back today? There is a story that is told of several boys playing soccer. While playing, a priest came up and asked them, “If Jesus came back right now, what would you do?” Many of the boys said, “I would hurry to the Church and pray.” The priest asked one last boy, and he said, “I would just keep playing soccer.” The story is meant to show that if we are truly living our faith everyday, then we have nothing to worry about when the Son of Man comes again.
ACTIVITY: “Follow your Religious Order”
Just as religious orders have certain rules and obligations to follow to grow in holiness, the laity should strive for holiness as well. Have your group list things they can do on a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis to improve their spiritual life and physical life. Examples: Prayer before meals everyday, eat properly three times a day, get out and exercise, go to confession at least once every month, go to mass every Sunday, get at least seven hours of rest, only spend an hour a day watching TV, etc. These things should be attainable for them to complete, but should stretch them past their comfort zone. Have them share what they will do. Make sure they try to make it as specific as possible. In a few weeks, ask them how they’re doing. It is important also to bring up the fact that not all prayers are equal. For example liturgical prayer such as the Mass, the Liturgy of Hours are primary to private devotions such as novenas, the Rosary, etc.
11 Luke 7:18
12 Fernandez, pg. 276 In Conversation with God
13 CCC 26
14 Heb 11:1
15 CCC 157
16 Matthew 24:36
17 John 10:10
18 Fernandez, pg. 276 In conversation with God