19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
About twelve years ago, a woman called Sue Halpern wrote a book called, 'Four Wings and a Prayer'. There she explores artistically the migratory patterns of Monarch butterflies, following their flight from the northeast United States to their winter refuge in Mexico; she then follows them as they trek back to the U.S. in the spring. They fly forty miles a day on average but sometimes - depending on winds and weather - they can manage up to 200 miles between dawn and dusk.
Halpern is particularly good on the dangers that Monarchs face. She is constantly reminding her readers that it takes at least seven generations to complete the entire cycle. In fact this migratory journey is more accurately viewed as a relay race. Because no one butterfly lives more than a few months; most survive only a month or less. Unlike migratory birds, each monarch experiences just a small part of its journey. But without the contributions of each, there would be no migration. The species would die out. Such a limited personal experience in an overall 'experience of the species' applies to humans as well as butterflies.
The authors of all three readings today also presume that each generation has already done or will do something to help our community's ongoing faith-migration. The authors of Wisdom and Hebrews reflect on what our ancestors have done to help us reach this point in our journey.
The writer of the Book of Wisdom reminds his community, 'By faith..., your people (during the Exodus) awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foe'. He's convinced that those who are reading his words in Israel are in the Promised Land only because of the steps of faith which their ancestors in Egypt dared to take centuries before.
In the same way, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews alerts his community to the debt they owe those who acted by faith long before they came on the scene. Faith, he states, is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.
The ability to take the long-term view is an essential ingredient of our faith. The vision of the man of faith embraces future generations. To prove his point, the writer provides us with some classic scriptural examples, in particular that of Abraham and Sarah. While those who choose our liturgical readings have omitted all his references except Abraham and Sarah, the writer actually goes on for almost 40 verses narrating things various people accomplished by faith, things which prepared the way for our own lives of faith.
He pointedly reminds us, All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar. We believe the way we do today only because people courageously acted on their beliefs long before we existed.
I suppose the temptation is to think were at the end of this long faith journey, that everyone who travelled it before simply prepared the way for us who today enjoy the last stage of faith.
But Jesus firmly points his community to the future. Each generation now is challenged to realise the Kingdom of God in the here and now. Jesus ushered in the Kingdom of God. But since we are flawed and imperfect, the Kingdom is imperfectly realised. But the day will come, we believe, when all that is now broken will be healed and made whole. In the meantime, the message remains: Be alert, be ready, Don't get too attached, prepare for a future, where is your treasure? Because, where you treasure is, there too will your heart be. Only by living with such anticipation will we be able to maintain and pass on the kind of faith which future generations need.
Twenty centuries later, we're still waiting, still believing. Like the monarch butterfly, each generation plays an essential role in the community's journey. The words of Jesus always echo in our ears: Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more. Each of us is entrusted with just a small part of humanity's overall journey of faith. But unless we faithfully live that part, the whole journey won't happen exactly as God planned it.