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In the course of my 11 years here at Immaculate Conception, I’ve been very blessed to come to know and love many folks – young, middle-aged, elderly - who have lived the words of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel; “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” If there was ever a short set of words to live by in these times, there they are. Do not be afraid of the goings on in the world, in our country, in our city, regarding events, ideas, and decisions that may tell you not to fully live your faith. Or do so in some way that either alters or dismisses your Catholic faith altogether. Reject those human ideas. Turn away from human teachings that little respect the human person, especially the unborn, and raise your Catholic faith to the level of not being afraid to live it in love and truth, and just have faith. I’ve been blessed to grow in my own Catholic faith thanks to many of you. As I’ve said previously, any priest worth his salt will deepen his own faith through that of the people he serves. That has certainly been the truth here. It’s the final Jesus message I leave with this Parish; “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” We see in the Gospel two splendid examples of faith in Christ touching on the two great issues that concern every person; our health and our upcoming death. The hemorrhaging woman who suffers greatly from the affliction teaches us the importance of proximity to Christ, and the central importance of reaching to touch Jesus in the Eucharist, in turn being touched by Christ himself. She takes full advantage of the large crowd issue surrounding the Lord. Sort of like those tiny little nuns in St. Peter’s Square who want to get a close look at the Holy Father. All they want is close proximity, maybe even touch his hand. So they work – or worm – their way underneath the crowd, get to a spot where they know he will be real close, and like the woman in the Gospel, touch the Pope’s hand, or just the tassel on his clothing. Why? Because there’s a holiness realized in the touch. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m never washing my hands again because I shook the hand of such and such a famous person?” Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m never going to wash my hands again because my hand has been touched by Jesus in the Eucharist?” Here in the Gospel the touch centers on the ever-serious topics of faith, and being healed because of that faith. In our physical, emotional, and spiritual struggles, may we have the faith and the will to be the hemorrhaging woman who was not afraid to draw near to this Jesus she heard about, and just had faith that he could supply for her wants. There’s ask and you shall receive; and there’s also doing and acting, and you shall receive. The second example of faith centers on death, a topic that gets the attention of everyone. Even the arrogant and the proud. The “just have faith” part of this Gospel story, the “do not be afraid” part of the story, is at the start when Jairus requests that Jesus visit his home to cure his daughter. It’s obvious that Jesus’ fame as a healer is at fever pitch. The crowds, the miraculous requests, the intercessions, the results. He’s driven all of them into a spiritual frenzy through his miracles. Here, Jesus performs one of the great ones, placed alongside Lazarus and the widow’s son from Nain. How can this synagogue official have enough faith in Jesus that will bring his daughter back to life? Truth be told, he doesn’t. He wants Jesus to heal his daughter. She’s not dead yet. He has faith that Christ can cure her illness, being the situation when he approached the Lord. She was sick; she wasn’t dead. Or asleep. If he knew his daughter had died, he would have joined the group of thinkers who said, “Don’t trouble the teacher any longer. There’s nothing he can do.” The beauty of this story of death and life is that Jesus alone drives it to its conclusion. Are we part of the “Don’t trouble the teacher any longer” group, because my issues are just too big for him? Or, he’s too busy elsewhere? Or, do we “just have faith” on the topic of death, and trust that Jesus brings it to a joyful conclusion, which he does in his resurrection, and the same promised to us? This is what he alone does. And it’s what he alone will do. The dead in Christ, your loved ones who just had faith, are not dead. They are asleep in Christ in body and dust, and forever alive in Christ in spirit and soul. It is Jesus alone who carries that great truth of our existence to its proper culmination. And that’s where I culminate my being Pastor of Immaculate Conception. With you and I not being afraid of all the distractions and evil discussions out there, and just having faith that we will be joined together again after we all fall asleep. Not during one of my homilies. But asleep in Christ Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Amen.

There was a famous quip from a Clint Eastwood movie years ago that said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Jesus would add, “So does nature.” Even the winds and sea need to know their limitations in God’s presence. For even God can shut them down as the Son of God did that day with his Disciples. What’s the advantage to us knowing and living our limitations, especially in a modern world that attempts to remove all limitations? First, we won’t try to do something we know we cannot do. We’re humble enough to know we cannot throw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl game. Maybe in the backyard we can, if you don’t have to throw it more than five yards to your grandchild. Knowing our limitations allows us to make practical decisions along this Road to Emmaus, understanding that many situations require us to stay on the sidelines and watch. To simply be a fan or witness to events, which the Disciples did in this Gospel as Jesus commanded the winds and sea to calm down. If the storm reappeared later that day and they were out on the boat and things started to get nerve-wracking, and they commanded the sea and winds to be calm without Jesus with them, the winds and sea would have said to the Disciples, “Get lost. I don’t know you. Get ready to drown.” Limitations. The day would arrive much later, when their faith in Jesus was overflowing, when they could command the sea and winds to be still, and they would be obeyed. Because they would heal the sick, raise the dead, cure the blind and lame, preach salvation in truth and confidence, which is much greater than commanding the sea and winds to be quiet. Their faith in their Lord and Savior would go on to move mountains, which I’ve been blessed to witness countless times from the steadfast faith of many folks in this faith community of Immaculate Conception over the years. Ours is a Christian faith that not only knows limitations, that we are dependent upon Christ for our salvation, but a faith that also bears good fruit. It is limitless in this regard. This is a holy combination for us. Our faith understands that we are not God. We are not puffed up and filled with pride that leads to us pretending to be the Creator of the universe. We know that is God is God alone, and we are subjects to him. We are presently his hands, his feet, his voice and virtues. We don’t go around debasing people, calling them violent, ugly names that would never be spoken by any God-fearing person. The greatness of our faith in Christ is that any limitations we have, our faith in Jesus removes them in relation to doing the good. This is the story of the Disciples, and it’s our story too. Without faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we handcuff ourselves, we chain ourselves to a fence that prevents us from bringing forth God’s kingdom around us. This is why the Lord asks them the question, “Do you not yet have faith?” He’s saying to them, “When is your faith really going to kick in and produce some great events? I want you to do some great things for me, like feed the poor, visit the sick, protect the unborn child, heal the sick and even raise the dead. But this won’t happen if you don’t have faith in me as your Messiah.” Our faith in Christ is central to our lives. It truly is the precious pearl. It unleashes all the good potential that bears good fruit and brings peace to the world. We can ask the question, “How about the many people who are not religious (atheists, agnostics), yet produce good fruit?” And my answer is, “We thank God for their much good, but the greater good they could produce is not realized where there is any lack of faith.” A person’s lack of faith in God will create limitations in their lives even if they are what we call “a good person who does good things.” Our faith in Christ knocks down all potential limitations for doing good works so we reach our potential, each according to our measure. So, yes, we do have limitations in our lives. Not all of us can sing on America’s Got Talent or The Voice. Most of us would be thrown off the stage. But all of us who have abiding faith in our Lord Jesus have no limitations when concerned with building up the Kingdom of God in our midst. “Do you not yet have faith?” Go out there and calm the sea and winds through your faith in Christ, and don’t make them more turbulent through politics supplanting your faith. The possibilities of transforming the world for Christ are endless, but it has to be done in his name, and that of his Blessed Mother.