Faith sees beneath the Surface
In praise of our ancestors in faith, the Letter to the Hebrews observes: “Only faith can guarantee the blessings that we hope for, or prove the existence of the realities that at present remain unseen. It was for faith that our ancestors were commended” (Heb. 11:1-2). In other words, faith sees what our physical eyes cannot see. In the same way, our minds arrive at some concepts from the data of experience. Faith is a way of knowing with certainty that which appears illogical or unreasonable to both the senses and the mind. How can twenty barley loaves of bread feed a hundred people? Elisha’s servant asked. With the authority of his faith in his God, Elisha told his servant: “Give it to the people to eat for Yahweh says this, ‘they will eat and have some left over.’ He served them; they ate and had some leftover, as Yahweh had said” (2 Kings 4: 43-44). How did Elisha see that which his servant and others around could not see? In the same way, Jesus fed thousands with five barley loaves and two fish, and there were leftovers (John 6:1-15). The apostles were worried because there was no way 200 days’ wages would be enough to feed the crowd! Yet, Our Lord already saw that His Father would do it.
For those who believe and trust in the Lord, the events of our lives have many layers, not just what we can see and experience. This faith is the fruit of our personal knowledge of God to the point where we completely trust that God works his purpose through ALL that happens in our lives and our world. There is no greater miracle than God coming into the world in Jesus Christ! And Jesus left us the Eucharist: a great miracle of his unfathomable love. The eyes see bread, but faith sees Jesus Christ, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I pray that we live daily by this faith and not just by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Amen
~Fr Cornelius Okeke