27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
October 2, 2022

A Catholic Bishop felt it appropriate to question some youngster about to receive their first communion and confirmation. The Bishop had precious little experience with boys and girls of that unpredictable age, so he thought it best for them, and for him, to run down a few pages from the Baltimore Catechism. The interrogation went like this:

Q: Tommy, who made the world?
A: God made the world.

Q: Barbara, who is God?
A: God is pure spirit.

Q: Johnny, where is God? (expecting, of course, God is everywhere).
A: God is in the bathroom.

Q: What did you say?
A: In the bathroom.

Q: In the bathroom! Why on earth would you say that?
A: Because, every morning I hear my dad shouting out: “My God, aren’t you ever going to get out of that bathroom?”

I begin with Johnny and the Bishop not to harass the hierarchy, but because the story suggests a counterpoint to today’s Gospel reading.

First, Faith. We hear in the Gospel, “the 12 begged the Lord, increase our faith.” Jesus does not respond directly to their request, but he does put them on the spot. The point of importance, Jesus says, is not how much faith you have, its size, or its amount. What is important is the kind of faith you have; it has to be genuine. If it were no bigger than a grain of mustard, but was genuine, real, its power would be enormous…. With genuine faith, you could do things utterly unexpected.

The problem is what is genuine faith? Acts of Faith, Articles of belief based on scripture and tradition. Catechisms prayer books. This is genuine faith, but it is not the whole of genuine faith. The faith that saves, the faith that moves mountains and trees is not simply a matter of propositions or creeds; it is a faith that believes God is everywhere and helps to feed the poor and helps the one in need. It is a faith that lives out our baptismal call.

As Christians, we are called to be prophets, to proclaim the good news, to share the life God has given us, to hear and reflect on God’s words. We are called to be actively involved, not just holding a set of beliefs, but to live these beliefs and form a community…this is a privilege, but also a burden. I cannot do this alone. We must all do our part. For unless you and I are the Church of which Christ dreamed, many a Johnny will have to look for his God in a bathroom.