Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, is one of my favorite women writers for her ability to give women a voice in society.  She came into my life at a time when I was heading back to school to complete work for a master’s degree and she spoke to my heart.  When I read Women Who Run with the Wolves, I said, “Finally, someone has put into words what I have been thinking for so long!” And, it was especially poignant that it was a woman who said it!  In a nutshell, which is hard to do for this woman author; the over-reaching thought was that women do have minds, unique thoughts, experiences and urgings for life—it is in their DNA, and they do need to be listened to!

Throughout her literary career, Pinkola Estes has challenged her readers toward, “showing their souls”—a very Christian idea and one, I believe, Jesus would approve of.  In the seeming, mish-mash of readings for this weekend; we might wonder if there is a common theme and I would offer that “soul-showing” is part of it.

On reading the selection from Exodus, my first thought was to not include much on it due to the violent picture of God depicted there. Exegetes though, tell us that we should cut the writers of this text a break as they lived in a different time and culture and didn’t have the benefit of Jesus, as we do, to reflect on, regarding their actions toward Amalek.  As is often a good plan with Scriptures; we must go deeper for what is ultimately the nugget to take to heart.

The words of the psalmist today, “Our help is from God, who made heaven and earth,” seems an appropriate response to the Exodus reading.  In other words, our take-away really should be, that no matter what life brings, our God will be there for us!

If we were looking for an overall theme though for today’s readings, clearly, “persistence,” exegetes tell us, would be it. Back to the Exodus reading—we see that more than anything else, the Israelites are persistent in asking God for what was needed, as they perceived it.  The larger image for all of us is to persevere in prayer.

We see in Paul’s letter to Timothy that same persistence—we might say, perseverance, as he encourages his young disciple to preach the gospel, “when convenient and [more so] when inconvenient.”

And finally in Luke, Jesus encourages us to persevere in fighting for justice till we have it.  If someone like the unjust judge in today’s gospel, who clearly cares nothing for people or God, in his own words, will finally relent giving the woman what she asks for, simply to get rid of her, think of what God who loves us more than we can imagine, will do through persistent prayer.

So friends, as we think about persevering in prayer, preaching the Gospel and fighting for justice, till we have it, my earlier comments on “soul-showing” seem appropriate.  Our call as followers of Jesus our brother should move us beyond being idle by-standers—lamenting what is.  Hearing his message, deep in our souls should move us to action in our world that so needs us to show our souls—what it is in fact that we deeply care about.

At the risk of being political, which I don’t mean to be, I’d like to share a recent example that demonstrates this lack of “soul-showing.”  This happened at a recent town hall meeting with our national representative, Jim Hagedorn.  At one point, we challenged him to  consider that when he stands by, saying nothing about the abhorrent behavior of the president, on a number of issues, which he agrees, he does not support, he is in fact, saying that he condones it.  He acted surprised to know this!—that lack of saying something is perceived as, agreement.

One of my pet peeves, no matter the political party, is the absence of “soul-showing,”  “intestinal fortitude”—read, “guts,” as former principal of Cotter High School, here in Winona, Father Paul Nelson used to say, when it comes to anyone holding public office and refusing to speak out on a controversial topic for fear of not being re-elected!  In my mind, such a person is not worthy of the office, because they have no idea of what serving the people means!

There used to be a time in our country when congresspeople worked, “across the aisle,” doing what was best for the American people—while maybe not getting everything they each wanted, but getting something!  “Soul-showing,” I would say, in this regard, seems a thing of the past and we so need for it to return in people who ask to serve our country.

I heard a talk that Barack Obama gave a year ago as he was receiving an award wherein he appealed to our “better angels.” He went on to say that in our world, “working to make something “better, is good!”  Again, while it may not be everything that we want, if each party, in any dispute, gets something, “this is good!”  This, my friends, is an example of, “soul-showing.”  And again, not meaning to be political, this “soul-showing” stuff is beyond, “political”—this is the message of our brother Jesus, calling us to be our best selves!

To do nothing, until we can have everything we want, does not work, whether it is in Congress, the Church, or in our daily lives because it is simply ignorant of the human condition and selfish with regard to others and their needs.

The message of Jesus, my friends, calls us to so much more—to show our souls on a consistent basis.  In conclusion, I’d like to end as I began with some eloquent words from Clarissa Pinkola Estes that I’ve shared with you before, but bear a repeat as they are really a blueprint for our lives as followers of Jesus.

“There will always be times when you feel discouraged.  I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it.  I will not entertain it.  It is not allowed to eat from my plate.  The reason is this: In my uttermost bones, I know something, as do you.  It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to earth, who you serve, and who sent you here.  The good words we say and the good deeds we do are not ours.  They are the words and deeds of the One who brought us here.”

My friends, I am not sure I could have said from my heart all that Clarissa Pinkola Estes said here from hers, but I know that I am mightily challenged by her words!  In that spirit then, in a world that needs each of us every day to persevere in good, truth and justice—basically, love, in broad strokes;  I invite us all to consider these final words from her:  “When a great ship is in harbor and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt.  But that is not what great ships are built for!”  Amen? Amen!

My friends, once again this week we are asked to look at the quality of “faith”—what it is and what it in fact, means in our lives.  The Scriptures for today, in two instances, tell us stories of people who believe, and more so, hope, for a cure from leprosy—Naaman, through the intercession of Elisha, the prophet and a Samaritan at the hands of our brother, Jesus.  And even though 10 lepers are cured; we will concentrate on the one that Jesus did—the one who came back to say, “thank you,” which tells us something, I think, about the virtue of gratitude.  And finally, in the letter to Timothy; we see the faith of Paul, who is in prison.

So first, we encounter Naaman, a non-Israelite, in the reading from Kings, cured by the prophet, through Naaman’s faith and then a Samaritan, along with nine others, cured by Jesus of a skin disease that made them outcasts in their own land—again, they were, as Jesus said, “Saved by their faith.”  So, it would seem, as we discussed last week—faith can do great things.

Because “faith” is taking center stage these past two weeks, many people are writing about it—one in particular, Jesuit musician, Dan Schutte. Dan speaks, in an article in the National Catholic Reporter, about his education, from little on with the School Sisters of Notre Dame and later with the Jesuits. He says that in both cases, he was challenged to, “not leave his brain at the door of the church,” so to speak, “but to think deeply about his Catholic faith and to not take everything at face value—[questioning], as a path toward a deeper and more authentic faith, to make his own, the teachings of the Church.” Sounds like a great description of faith for all of us!

Schutte goes on to give another description of faith that he gained, along the way from a priest, in a sermon during the Easter Season.  He didn’t include the priest’s name, but says that he has never forgotten what he had to say on the topic. “The opposite of faith is not doubt,” the unnamed priest said.  “The opposite of faith is certainty.”

Schutte continues, “In other words, when we are certain about something, we don’t need faith anymore.  Walking in faith, Schutte continues, sometimes takes work, not only of the heart, but the mind.  It’s often a daring, courageous journey with Jesus, the Risen One, at our side, guiding us with his Spirit,” he concludes.

I would like to lift up a couple of things that he said in this explanation.  Schutte talks about the “work” that “faith” sometimes is, and I think it is significant that he says, it is the work of not only the “heart, but the mind.”  The significant piece for me is that he started with, “the heart” and only secondly added, “the mind.”  In other words, faith is a “heart matter,” primarily, and we should always start there!  Starting with the mind seems to direct us to the “certainty” that the unnamed priest says, “is not faith.”

The second point that I’d like to call our attention to is the fact that, faith “is often a daring, courageous journey with Jesus.”  In other words, when it comes to faith—believing in things that we aren’t certain about; we need to keep our eyes on Jesus and “trust in the inspiration of his Spirit.”

It was this kind of faith and trust that carried Jesus throughout his life, which inspired Naaman, Paul and the Samaritan leper in the readings for today. And when we think about faith in our own lives, would we describe it as Dan Schutte came to understand it from teachers through the years?  I personally find great solace in knowing that faith isn’t something that I need to have “certainty” about.

When I think of the things that I have taken on faith in my life and probably will continue to, without complete assurance; I realize that it comes from a “deep knowing” in my heart, that something is so, that God wants me to do this.  Examples:  that I should enter the convent, that I should leave the convent, that I should marry Robert, that I should pursue ordination.

For me, it is about my relationship with Jesus and I dare say, if it weren’t for him, what he said and did in his earthly life; I would find belief in the God that the hierarchy gives us, at times, hard to take.

This reminds me of a scene from Franco Zefferelli’s film, Jesus of Nazareth.  This particular scene takes place after Jesus’ death.  Mary Magdalen has just come to share the news that, “Jesus is risen, that she has seen him!”  Of course, the men don’t believe her and she leaves in disgust.

The apostles go on to discuss the matter, rather heatedly and at one point, Thomas, who was known in Scriptures for doubting, questions Peter, “Do you believe her story?” Peter responds, “Yes, I do!” Thomas counters with, “How can you?!”  Peter responds simply, “Because he, [meaning Jesus] said so—that he would rise! And Peter continued, “I have always believed him!”

We can hardly object to what someone says they believe, but knowing a person, their credibility in other things; we come to trust in their assurance, “about things they cannot see,” which is the definition of faith. Now, of course this scene from Zefferelli’s film is not recorded in Scripture, but we can imagine such was part of the apostles’ deliberations in coming to believe all that Jesus said and ultimately, did.

So, my friends, my purpose here is not to “sew up faith,” as it were, because we know that is not possible. My purpose in fact is to challenge us to think ever more deeply about what our faith means—and further, what it calls us to do.

Jesus had a sense—a trust, that he was mightily loved by his Abba God, that he was sent on a mission of love and something about his trust in God’s love and care for him, allowed him to give to the final measure.

We see this same type of love in the love of earthly parents—their willingness to bring children into a world that they have no assurance will be a good place for them to grow up in, except for what they have experienced in their own lives.  This same type of love is present within anyone who chooses love over hate in our world, good over bad.

In conclusion then, no assurances, but faith will lead to some awesome places if we can let go of our need for certainty and our response to this new-found freedom is likely to be that of the one, returning leper—now cured—gratitude.  Amen? Amen!