23 June 2021
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
There are some lessons in life that are best learned early on. How to play a musical instrument, for example, or how to speak a foreign language or dance or play soccer: these are skills that are best acquired in childhood. Many parents insist upon lessons because “you’ll thank me when you’re older.” A little effort early on often leads to a lifetime of benefits. Likewise, this applies to learning how to be a good child, to love and honor your parents, to be a good playmate and a good friend, etc. If you don’t learn these lessons as a child, then brace yourself for a harsh and lonely adulthood.
Among the skills that are best acquired early on is faith. To listen to God’s revelation and to put your trust in it is a skill that is not always easy. If we learn to believe while young, it makes it easier when we reach adulthood. How hard it was for Abram to believe God’s promises to him, promises of land and of descendants. He and his wife were already far advanced in years, with no remaining biological prospects for children of their own. God, in his generosity, gave Abram a special gift, the gift of faith, by which, despite his advanced age, he could believe God’s promise.
Let us not wait any longer. Let us work today at the skill of trusting what God has revealed. The longer we wait, the harder it becomes to learn. Let us now imitate the apostles, who said “Lord, increase our faith” (Luke 17:5).