Catechesis Notes for the Week — Faith in the Midst of Unbelief — This week’s biblical narratives from Matthew and Luke illustrate the dramatic contrast between faith in Christ and unbelief. The week begins with the story of the Visitation in which Mary, newly pregnant with Jesus, visits her cousin Elizabeth who is six months pregnant with John the Baptist. Both women are filled with the Holy Spirit and joyful penitent faith in the Lord. Mary’s famous greeting, the Magnificat, confesses her total devotion to the Lord, her Savior. Elizabeth’s prophecy, “Blessed are you among women…” and the infant John leaping for joy in her womb, highlight not only the presence of faith in Christ, but also the joy and peace that such faith brings to sinners. In contrast, the ongoing stories from Matthew begin with Jesus’ call out of unbelief to faith, in Jesus Preaches Repentance and Faith. The woes spoken to Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum warn of the impending doom for those who reject Jesus. Yet the Gospel teaches that the sinner who is burdened and heavy laden finds his comfort and rest in Jesus’ mercy. In Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus teaches the self-righteous Pharisees that true rest is found in what He does for sinners, rather than in what sinners do for God. Jesus desires to give God’s mercy and not to receive our sacrifices. In Jesus Heals on the Sabbath, He not only teaches that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, but that God’s divine service of goodness and mercy to us is the source of true Sabbath rest. The unbelief and hardness of heart toward Jesus is on display in the accusation levelled against Jesus that He cast out demons by the power of Satan rather than by the power of God. But Jesus’ reply, a House Divided Cannot Stand, teaches us that it is by the Spirit of God that Jesus delivers from the power of Satan and establishes God’s kingdom of grace. To use the Words of the Catechism, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel…” Where is true faith found? According to Jesus, a Tree is Known by its Fruit, and the fruit of true repentance and faith is in the words of a sincere confession of sin and faith in God’s mercy. The week concludes with the Parable of the Sower and the Seed in which Jesus teaches us that the miracle of faith is made possible by the Word of God alone which He, the faithful Sower, plants in the soil of our hearts.CP230702