‘To see is to believe’ and this is what some if not most people would say. There are others who would say as in today’s gospel, ‘What sign can you do’. When the Lord asks us to do something, quite often people ask for a sign and when they receive a sign, they continue to ask for another sign. Even if another sign is given, they might still not believe and think it was a coincidence.
Faith is to continue even though there are doubts. The doubts as we move along should be clarified and not clarified and then move along.
Sometimes one doubt leads to another and one question leads to another and eventually we do not move at all. Sometimes the Lord tells us what we need to know as we move along and not tell us everything at once.
Are you willing to take that one step in faith without knowing the rest of the steps? The question in today’s gospel, ‘What are we to do?’ should be asked in faith. The question should be asked only when the person is ready to make the response in action.
As in the Letter of St. James, to state that faith is present is to find it in action. In the gospel, ‘it is not those who say ‘Lord, Lord’ who will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father.’ (Mt 7:21)
The faith must be visible for the individual to know what sort of faith is present. The visibility of the faith becomes a testimony to others. These others may sometimes need to the example of our faith actions to motivate them into wanting to act out of their faith.
Questions for Reflection
What have been the visible signs of your faith?
What has the Lord been calling you to do?
What actions of others have inspired you to do great things for God our Father?