Fr. Bob White - What the walk of faith asks us.
The “walk through life” that we’re all on whether we know it or not we’re all on that walk. But do we want to make the “walk through life” a walk of faith? That’s up to us. So, what does the walk of faith ask of us?
My nephew recently had this conversation with a young guy he works with. The guy asks my nephew, “Are you married?” “Yep, how about you? “Nope, I don’t want to be tied down to anyone or anything. I just want to be free to do my own thing, when I want, any time I want.
Okay, doing your own thing, when you want, anytime you want, fine. But the walk of faith is about so much more. It’s about joining Jesus in doing his thing. Jesus is at work in the world today, and we can join him in that work.
What else does the walk of faith ask of us? Once when I was out west after skiing I went out for a short hike on a flat butte not far from where I was staying. Without warning a blinding snowstorm moved in and I lost my sense of direction. I couldn’t see a thing. Everything was a complete whiteout. Dang! I could see the news. “Blind guy lost in a snowstorm.”
But then I saw it, one lone pine tree not far off. With my eyes fixed on it, I trudged my way toward it. Once I got there, just beyond a mound of snow I could see the road back to where I was staying. Whew! That was a close one.
Like that lone pine tree in life we need a “true north” to keep us moving in the right direction. Without it we can get blinded by distractions and soon find ourselves off course and very lost. What does the walk of faith ask of us? It calls us to keep our eyes on Jesus, our true north, the one who shows us the way.
What else does the walk of faith ask of us? With the terrorist attack of 9//11 fire fighters were willing to lay down their lives to rescue those trapped beneath the rumble. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for us. As his followers he invites us to do the same, in big and small ways to lay down our lives for one another.
So, what does the walk of faith ask us? Thirty-four high schoolers of St. Victoria are confirmed in their decision to be confirmed at the Basical this Thursday evening at the Basilic. They are choosing not to do their own thing but to join Jesus in doing his thing. They’re choosing to keep their eyes are fixed on Jesus, our true north. In big and small ways, they’re choosing to be ready to lay their life down for others the way Jesus, the Good Shepherd did for us.
So, as thirty-four high schoolers of our parish commit to doing this, we can support them by committing to do the same, to not do just our own thing but join Jesus in doing this thing, to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus our “true north”, and to learn to lay down our lives for one another the way Jesus our Good Shepherd did for us. So, congrats to the St. Victoria Confirmation class of 2024.
