TRUST THE ONE YOU KNOW
Author: Fr. Michael Byron
September 19, 2020
I’m sure that these young people here today to celebrate
First Eucharist are at a time of life when they, are learning about so many
things, so fast. But I think there’s no more important lesson to be learned by
them, or by the rest of us older people, than the lesson about which people you
can trust, and which people you can’t trust. Sometimes these are hard lessons.
When you think you can share a personal secret with a
friend, you hope that they won’t share it with other people. But every so
often, they do – and that hurts. When you think that someone will forgive you for
a mistake that you have made, and they don’t do that, it hurts. When somebody
promises to help you, or they tell you that they know things that will help you
to make good decisions – and then it turns out that they have not been honest
with you, that hurts.
Trust is a gift that every one of us – young or old – has to
give to other people, just as other people can offer that gift to us. But trust
is something that really needs to be earned. It’s not always that other people want
to deceive or mislead us or make us suffer – although sometimes that’s true. But
other times it’s just that other people honestly think that they know what they
are talking about, but they really don’t. It still hurts, and it’s still a
reason not to trust them too readily when they say things to us, or make
promises to us.
So how do we know whom to trust? There’s really no way other
than to live with them for quite a while, whether in a family or among friends,
to see how they speak and act, both in times of joy and especially in times of
danger.
Maybe the best examples I can think of involve my doctors. I
recently had two cavities filled in my dentist’s office. Even with insurance,
it cost a lot of money. I wasn’t feeling any pain in my teeth, and I didn’t
notice anything unusual, but he said I needed to have that procedure done for
my health. I could either trust him to be telling me the truth – or not. But I’ve
had him as my dentist for about a dozen years now, and he has proven himself,
over and over, to have my best interest at heart. Or when primary care
physician tells me that I need this shot or that medication, I believe him
because I’ve known him for more than 40 years and he has never lied to me, even
though I’ve never felt physically ill. That’s a trust that’s been earned
through a long time of just being together.
And something similar goes on with those who promise to be
my teachers, both in school and in church, or as my pastors. The vast majority
of them have been very well worthy of my trust – but not all. A few of them
have been so tightly tied to an agenda or to an ideology that they have been
willing to cling to that rather than to tell me the truth. Those teachers and
preachers need to be subject to the criterion of trust – as do I – every time
they presume to proclaim what they believe to be true, especially from a pulpit
at Mass. I as a preacher will ever be only as credible as hearers are willing
to trust me – and that’s exactly as it should be and must be. And trust is
earned day by day, meeting by meeting, among those assembled. Friendships are
forged that way, beginning even in the 2nd and 3rd grade.
The one who is worthy of our allegiance is not the one who says, “Trust me,”
but rather the one who says, “Live with me, stay with me, abide with me.” (For the
long haul!)
Which brings us back to our scripture readings. Both our
first reading from the prophet Isaiah and our second reading from the apostle Paul
are utterances from holy men who would seem, at first glance, to have little
reason for trust in God. Isaiah is writing to Israelites who had lost
everything of what they were promised in the beginning – the land, the Temple,
the Kingship of David, the freedom from bondage. He and his audience would seem
to have had ample reason for doubt.
But Isaiah’s are words of trust! How could that be? Because he
and they didn’t just know about God; they knew God. Not merely through a lot of
pious words, but through the unfolding of their lives, even and especially when
it tried their faith and threatened their commitment. They trusted because
there was no other reason to stay true to the promise. But they did.
And St. Paul writes his letter to the Philippians from a
prison cell. He who had wagered everything on the faithfulness of God now finds
himself confronted with execution, and his too are words of trust! “Life is
Christ, and death is gain… Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel
of Christ.” This is a saint whose trust God had earned by abiding with Him.
Our First Communicants approach the table today in hope of
the same promise: that Jesus will be that loving savior in whom you can always
put your trust, both in good times and in bad – both when it is easy to see his
love for you, and when it seems harder. Jesus will always be here for you, to
help you, to encourage you, to forgive you, and to celebrate with you. There is
no one more worthy of your trust than Jesus. What a gift. When other people may
seem to let us down, trust Jesus, who never will.
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