Because of his faith, the just man shall live. We hear in Sunday’s first reading the original prophetic line made so central by St. Paul (see Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).
We are to live by faith in Christ who loved us and gave himself on the cross for us (see Galatians 2:20).
The world, though, can seem to us as seventh-century Judah seemed to Habakkuk — in the control of God’s enemies. The strife and discord we face in our own lives can sometimes cause us to wonder, as the prophet does, why God doesn’t seem to hear or intervene when we cry for help.
We can’t let our hearts be hardened by the trials we undergo. As the psalm reminds us: Israel forgot his mighty works, lost faith in the sound words of his promise. They tested God in the desert, demanding a sign.
But God didn’t redeem Israel from Egypt only to let them die in the desert. And he didn’t ransom us from futility only to abandon us in our trials. He is our God and we are the people he shepherds always — though at times his mercy and justice seem long delayed.
If we call on the Lord, as the apostles do in the Gospel, he will increase our faith, will stir to a flame the Holy Spirit who has dwelt within us since baptism.
As Paul tells us in the epistle, the Lord will always give us the love and self-control we need to bear our share of hardship for the Gospel — with a strength that can come from God alone.
Our task is to continue doing what he has commanded — to love and to build up his kingdom — trusting that his vision still presses on to its fulfillment.
For his vision still has its time. One day, though we are but “unprofitable servants,” we will be invited to eat and drink at our master’s table. It is that day we anticipate with each celebration of the Eucharist.
Scott Hahn is founder of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, stpaulcenter.com.
