Word Word of of Life Life March 2010 March 2010
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WordWordofof
Life Life March 2010March 2010
How often in life have you felt the
need for somebody to
give you a hand, and at the same
time realized that nobody can help you in your
situation!
It is then that you unconsciously turn to
Someone who can make the impossible
possible. This Someone has a name: he is Jesus. Listen to
what he tells you:
“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Mt 17:20)
Obviously, the expression "to
move mountains" is
not to be taken literally. Jesus did not promise his disciples the
power to perform
spectacular miracles simply to amaze the
crowds.
In fact, if you look through the whole
history of the Church you will not find a saint - as
far as I know - who literally moved
mountains by his faith.
Gia
nna
Bere
tta
Mol
la
Pier
G
iorg
io
Fras
sati
Chi
ara
Luce
The expression "to move mountains" is a hyperbole, that is a rhetorical exaggeration,
intended to instill into the minds of the disciples the fact that, with faith, nothing is
impossible.
The purpose of every miracle that Jesus performed, directly or through his followers, was always to further the kingdom of God or the Gospel, or the
salvation of mankind. Moving mountains would not serve this purpose.
The comparison with the "mustard seed" is used to show that what Jesus requires of you
is not a great amount of faith, but an authentic faith. The characteristic of an authentic faith is that it is rooted solely in God and not on one's
own strength.
If you are assailed by doubts or reservations about your faith, then that means that your faith in God
is not yet authentic. It means that you have a faith which is feeble and somewhat ineffective, which is
still anchored upon human strength and human logic.
The one who trusts entirely in God lets
God himself act and… to him
nothing is impossible. The faith that Jesus wants from his
disciples is a totally trusting attitude
which enables God to manifest his
power.
And this faith which is able to move mountains is not reserved for certain
exceptional people. All believers are duty bound to allow God to manifest his power in
their lives.
“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
It is traditionally believed that Jesus said these words to his disciples when he was about to send them out on their mission.
To get discouraged and
frightened is easy when you know that you are a
small, unprepared flock, with no
particular talents, faced with a great crowd of people
to whom you must carry the
truth of the Gospel.
You lose heart because you realize that you are facing people whose interests are entirely
different from the kingdom of God. It seems an impossible task.
It is then that Jesus assures his disciples that by faith they will “move mountains” of indifference
and of apathy in the world. If they have faith, nothing will be impossible for them.
On the other hand, this expression can be applied to all of life’s circumstances, as long as these further the progress of the Gospel and the
salvation of people.
At times, when we are confronted with insurmountable difficulties, we might even be
tempted not to turn to God. Human logic says to us, “Give up; it's no use anyway.” It is here that Jesus exhorts us not to be discouraged, but to
turn to God with trust. In one way or another he will answer us.
That is what happened to Lella. Some months had passed since the day when, full of hope, she first reported to her new job in Belgium
among the Flemish-speaking people. But now a sense of dismay and loneliness had taken hold
of her heart.
It was as though between her and the girls with whom she lived and worked, an
insurmountable barrier had been erected. She felt
isolated and estranged among
those people whom she wanted only to
serve with love.
It was all because she had to speak a language which was neither hers nor those to whom she
was speaking with. They had told her that everybody spoke French in Belgium and she had learned it. But coming in direct contact
with those people she realized that the Flemish people studied French only in school and in
general spoke it unwillingly.
Many times she had tried to move this mountain of segregation that kept her
apart from others, but in vain. What could she do for them?
She could still see before her the face of her companion Godeliève, full of sadness. That
evening Godeliève went up to her room without touching her supper. Lella tried to follow her, but
she stopped in front of the door, timid and scared. She wanted to knock... but what words
should she use to make herself understood? She remained there for a few seconds, then she gave
up.
Next morning she went to church and stayed at the
back behind the last pews, her face burried in her
hands so that no one would notice her tears. It was the only place where no other
language needed to be spoken, where no
explanations were required, because there was Someone
who understood beyond words. With the certainty of
being understood, she gathered courage and, her soul in anguish, she asked
Jesus:
“Why can I not share the cross of the other girls and tell them what you yourself have made me
understand when I found you: that every suffering is love?"
There she was in front of the
tabernacle, almost expecting an
answer from him who had brought light into every darkness of her life. She turned her eyes to the
Gospel of the day and read: "Trust - have faith - I have
conquered the world." These
words were like balm on Lella's
soul, and she felt a great peace.
When she went back for breakfast, she met Annj, the girl who did the housecleaning. She greeted Annj and followed her into the storeroom; then, without a word she started to help her prepare breakfast. The first person to come down from
the room was Godeliève. She came to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, quite
in a hurry to avoid seeing anyone. But there, she
stopped; Lella's peace had
touched her soul in a manner
stronger than any word.
That evening, on the way home,
Godeliève pedaled her bicycle beside
Lella's, and trying to speak in a way Lella would understand,
she whispered, “Your words are not
necessary; today your life told me: love means more than words.” The
mountain had been moved!
“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Text by Chiara Lubich
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