Gen 3:9-15 | II Cor 4:13-5:1 | Mk 3:20-35

“Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away,
our inner self is being renewed day by day. …For we know that if our earthly dwelling,
a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God,
a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.”

I. Sometimes I hear remarks like:

• “Oh, we are living in such sad times. There are just so many issues and
  problems.”
• or I hear laments about people who no longer practice their faith: it could be
  someone middle aged and much older, who, at one time was faith-filled, active,
  but has now abandoned the faith. Or it could be about young people who just
  haven’t taken to the faith.
• or there’s continuing discussion about how secularized we are becoming as a
  society: everything, and all of life, is focused on the present moment, the
  pleasures of the moments, the material success available now. There is little
  thought or concern in our society about the future.

This can give life a cloudy kind of feel – just like a cloudy day. Sadness can seep
into our heart. It can be a kind of pessimism hanging around us.

II. But Paul goes in an entirely different direction – and if there is anyone who
would be tempted to give it all up – it would be Paul! Recall at the time, Christians
were just a tiny sect within Judaism. They would have been surrounded by Roman
gods and temples – certainly the prevailing faith system. Paul was rejected by most
of his fellow Jews. And Paul was just a tiny voice, a small light, speaking out in the
darkness. And consider this:

“Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I
was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked;
for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers,
danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in
the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and
sisters…. ((II Cor 11:24-26)

Why didn’t he just give it up and go back to tent making?! He certainly didn’t have
a lot of support and he didn’t have the benefit of 2,000 years of historical
experience. How easily would we – and do we – cave in when we meet challenge

III. First of all, very simply, for Paul – he believed. As he says, “according to what is
written, I believed, therefore I spoke, we too believe and therefore we speak.
- he believed in the risen Jesus and he believed in the One – namely, God the
Father – who raised Jesus from the dead – and he spoke boldly about his
faith. He firmly believed that if he is faithful to Jesus, he, too, will rise and
know eternal life with God.
- that faith is our same foundation. Our faith is not belief in a system of ideas
or a kind of philosophy: it is a belief in a person – Jesus Christ. And that is
what makes the difference.
- our belief is in a living, risen person with whom we have a relationship.
- this relationship with a person gives us

• hope and confidence
• this relationship gives us a clarity of vision, helping us to see past the
  cloudiness that can creep in around us
  • essentially, Christians are men and women of hope: we are not given to
    pessimism, to a kind of fatalism, to despair. Instead, faith empowers us to
    trust that God is faithful to God’s promises. This is what hope, as a virtue
    is: it is rooted in trust in God’s promises.
• our relationship with Jesus gives us an inner peace and with that comes
  contentment, a kind of happiness
  • o regardless of what is happening in the world around us, and even what is
    happening in our personal lives, faith enables us to remain calm in the
    midst of the storm. We can be that quiet still point in the middle of a
    hurricane. We can do this because we know Jesus is always present with
    us and to us.
• and this relationship with Jesus gives us power: power to battle sin and the
  temptations to sin.
  • we heard of the beginnings of sin in the first reading, of it began with the
    first human beings who gave in to the temptation of sin. And in the gospel
    we heard of how Jesus is way more powerful than the forces of evil.
  • as descendants of those first human beings, we are susceptible to
    temptation. Just because we are disciples of Jesus, doesn’t mean we don’t
    have to face temptation. But it does mean we have the courage to fight
    against it and often times, in many ways, we indeed conquer the
    temptations of our lives.

IV. Paul’s faith – his personal relationship with Jesus – enabled him to remain strong
and confident in this life: “therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our
outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” He even says
the struggles of this life are only a “momentary light affliction!
Instead has a vision for the future, for the eternal future. This light affliction is
“producing for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to
what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen
is eternal. For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we
have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.”
In other words, Paul stares death in the face – and looks with complete
confidence to the glory of eternal life in heaven. This echoes Jesus’ promise that in
the Father’s house there are many dwelling places and that he is going on ahead of
us to prepare a place for us.

V. There is a story told about a little girl who asked her father, “Daddy, what happens
when I die?” Not quite sure of what to say, the told her this story:
“There are days when you and your friends spend hours playing outside, having
all sorts of fun.” The little girl smiled remembering those fun times.
“Then, after supper, you are so tired you fall asleep, all curled up on the sofa. But
in the morning you wake up in your own room. How do you think that happens?”
The little thought for a moment and then said, “I guess you put me there.” That’s
right,” the father said. “When you fell asleep, I picked you up, took you to your room
and tucked into bed. So it is when we die. We fall asleep in one part of God’s house
and God picks us up and takes us to our own room, made perfect by our friend,
Jesus.”

VI. So, do not lose heart! Life, by definition is full of struggle. Our bodies weaken, our
health and relationships ebb and flow. But we can face all this because we have a
relationship with Jesus who died and rose again. It is he who sustains us and give us
hope for this life and the next.

(Fr. Dwayne Thoman)