2 Great Fathers

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7) The Bible tells the story of two great fathers, Abraham and Joseph, who had unfaltering faith in God. Abraham, who is the father of our Jewish ancestry, was asked to sacrifice his son for us. He had to have unbelievable faith to want to sacrifice his son for God. God, seeing his true faith in the Lord, made Abraham the Father of all Nations. Joseph, the husband of Mary, also had unrelenting faith in God. Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, told him she was pregnant. What a blow to Joseph, who could have done this to him. Because of his righteousness, he was going to divorce Mary in secret. Otherwise, Mary would have been stoned to death for becoming pregnant outside of marriage. That night, he was visited by an angle who explained that Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit and that he was to take Mary and raise her son. “When Joseph awoke, he did as the angle of the Lord commanded.” What unbelievable faith did Joseph have to trust in the Lord? Joseph drew his strength from his trust in God. This trust was fueled by his undying faith, a gift from the Holy Spirit. This gave him the strength he needed to take care of Mary and the Christ Child. Joseph could have said no, he could have divorced Mary, he could have chosen the easier road, but he didn’t. He was given faith. He had faith that was given to him by the grace of God. It was this faith that allowed him to weather the storm. How solid is your faith? What has God asked you to do? We are all called to have faith in our Lord; we strengthen our faith through prayer and through feasting on the nourishment of the Holy Spirit. Our faith is strongest when we open our souls to the Lord, when we lift our eyes to heaven and let the light of or Lord Jesus Christ flood our hearts. The story of Joseph highlights the overpowering strength of the gift of faith. This is a gift that is there for all of us. However, we must accept this gift. What would have happened in Joseph would not have accepted this gift? What if Abraham had denied the request of God to sacrifice his son? Faith allows us to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Without faith, we are blind. Jesus cured the blind man because of his faith. Because his eyes were opened to the Lord, he was cured of his blindness. The light of the Holy Spirit was let in to fill his body. Faith is a trait that becomes harder to master the older we get. When we were small children, we believed our parents without question. We believed in God with out proof. We believed that Jesus died to save us from our sins because our religion teacher told us. We believed because of our innocence. However, age is a thing causes us to become blind. As we “mature” we begin to doubt. Our faith is attacked by the knowledge of life. How solid is your faith? Through the grace of God, we can put our lives in God’s hands. He will help us. But we must have faith? We should follow Joseph’s example of faith, trust and obedience, even when it is difficult. How solid is your faith? God continues to be merciful. He will always pour out his grace for you – just ask him to give it to you. A Simple Prayer Thank you, Father, for calling me into your life through your son and giving me the ability to believe in him. Father, you know how weak my faith can be and how I can waver in responding to you. Father – I believe – but help my unbelief!” Yours in Christ Michael Marcon