We are all called to have faith, but faith in what. When I was a much younger person, we were coming home from Black Rock State Park in Connecticut. My mother was driving and little did we know my mother was somewhat directionally challenged. We left the park after a fun day with family, and as we meandered home, my mother was heading in the direction she thought was correct on Rt 8. We were going for a while, and we saw a sign for Hartford. My brother and I were wondering why it said Hartford and not New Haven. Mom’s response was New Haven always comes before Hartford. Of course, that would be correct if you were coming from somewhere that was already south of New Haven, which Black Rock was not. So we continued to go, wondering why it seemed to take so long when we got to Hartford. Then mom realized where she was and jumped on the Parkway. She began to run low on gas, and we found a gas station. Mom only had a couple of dollars to put in the tank, which back then was good for about 4 gallons.

We finally made it home, 0and this is one of those stories that gets told from time to time around the family gatherings. We as children had faith that mom knew where she was going at the time, of course in hindsight we maybe should have been a little concerned. This faith we had in mom was based on nothing more than mom had always taken care of us and she would this time as well.

Jeremiah is in a similar situation today as he begins to voice the concerns for the Israeli people since they were moving away from God. He knew there would be people who would want him hurt or worse for what he was saying. As we hear “But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion: my persecutors will stumble, they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.”

The entire reading reminds of the world we live in today. “Terror on every side! Denounce! Let us denounce him!” We see terror play out all over the world, from London to Brussels, to Alexandria. People cannot get along, and all they want to do is denounce each other because they do not like what they are being told. The Jewish people continued on the path and were scattered and destroyed because of it. We are called to have faith.

We need to listen to those speaking the truth in the world not denouncing them. The sound of reason and logic needs to come back. The ones who speak it will be put down and denounced because those who want to continue on the path of emotion don’t want to hear reason. The world is currently being led down a path of emotion that may not end well if we do not have faith. The big question remains faith in what. Mathews Gospel today reminds us of the one we are to have faith in and whose word we are to proclaim.

We are given two options. One we can acknowledge Christ, and he will acknowledge us to the father. Two we can deny him, and he will deny us to the father. Those two options lead to two different places. One living in heaven with Christ and the Father. The other in a not so pleasant placed called Hell, where we have heard there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Personally, I would rather be with Christ.

What is it that makes those of us with a faith different? One thing that makes us different is we believe in a heaven where life will be much more pleasant. We also believe that if we live by Christs’ guidelines, we will be happier and those around us will be happier.

Another thing that makes us different is we acknowledge our weaknesses, most of the time. When pride and ego take over, we end up with a situation where we believe ourselves to be God. When we get to that point, we lose faith in him and have only faith in ourselves. This leads to the type of thinking that says if it feels good, do it. It also leads to the thought that since we are all different, we do not have the right to tell others how to live. We are not to judge them for their choices. This has led us to where we are today where even those who are supposed to be intelligent, eloquent people cannot listen to another before denouncing them simply because they come from a different viewpoint than them. If every individual is the only judge of what is good for them, we ignore the impact that has on the rest of society.

We are reminded again by St. Paul that sin came into the world by the actions of one man. But we are to be hopeful because by the actions of another our transgressions have been paid for. Faith and hope are two powerful motivators in life. When we have faith in what Christ teaches we can hope for a better world than we live in today.

Jesus reminds however that what we hear whispered we are to proclaim from the housetops. We are called to not be afraid of proclaiming the truth. If we proclaim the truth and do it from a perspective of doing it for Christ death will have no hold on us. If we proclaim what we determine is the truth we fall prey to those who can harm not only our body but our soul as well. We are all called to proclaim the truth, not just bishops and priests, each one of us who are baptized. The only way to know we are proclaiming the truth is to listen for God’s call. Proclaiming the truth does not mean we need to stand with a sign on the corner saying the end is near. We don’t even need to speak it; we need to live it. If more of us Christians lived a life worthy of Christ the world would be a better place.

So need to have faith and live our faith, even when it goes against the common culture of the day. Christianity has not survived for 2000 years because the teachings of Christ were the popular ones but because they were the right ones. So let us live our whole faith, not just those parts that are popular in our circle of friends.