Deep Roots Homily

I recall that in 1993, my dad bought over 100 pecan trees from a farm in Monticello, Florida, and we planted them in our farm outside Washington, Georgia. The trees, still very young, looked great along the road that ran along the side of our property, which by the way, is the same road where I learned how to drive.

Unfortunately, the summer of ‘93 brought a tremendous drought to Georgia. One hundred fifty-six counties were declared disaster areas by the US Department of Agriculture. No matter how much we watered the trees, they began to die. The earth was too dry and we couldn’t give them enough water. By the end of the year, not one of the trees were alive. Eventually the dead trees had to be ripped out and burnt.

Jeremiah’s words on fidelity and trust are truly ageless. Written over twenty-five centuries ago, we understand the image perfectly. None of us wish to be a “barren bush in the desert that stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth.”

We want to be among the blessed! “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought, it shows no distress but still bears fruit.”

We wish to be anchored so well in Jesus that no matter what dry spells life may bring, our faith will not falter. The heat may dry everything up, but we long to have deep roots; so deep that even during the most difficult times, we are still connected and fed by the Lord. We do not want to end up like the pecan trees, plucked out and burnt. How do we achieve this? How can our faith and hope run deep enough so that it doesn’t dry up with the difficulties and struggles of life?

One: pray for a deeper faith. Jesus teaches us that faith itself is a gift from the Holy Spirit which allows us to believe. When Jesus encounters a man whose son is possessed by a demon, the man offers a simple yet powerful prayer: “Lord, I do believe, help my unbelief.” How often we are like this man, we believe in Jesus, yet at the very same time, we hold back with doubts and questions. We believe, certainly, yet we struggle to remain strong. It’s good to recognize that many times we struggle, so then we can ask for greater, deeper faith. That is a prayer that Jesus never denies!

Two: a tree really has no choice where it’s planted. The seed is either placed by a human being, carried by the wind or by a bird. A tree cannot pick itself up and move over to get closer to water. It is impossible for it to do so, unless a gardener or farmer does it.

How often we are like trees that grow frustrated because we’d like to be somewhere else, but cannot. We grow frustrated, angry and impatient because we do not feel that we are in control. A tree would go pretty frustrated if it kept wishing to be somewhere else…

We must learn and accept our limitations. We cannot do everything, we cannot make choices for others, we cannot be all things to all people. There is a liberating sensation when we acknowledge that we can only do so much, and then surrender the things beyond our ability to control to Jesus. I cannot do it all, so in faith, I leave those things beyond my ability to change to the Lord. Otherwise, my faith falters in anger and frustration.

Three: Jesus says “Blessed are you poor, you who are hungry, you who are weeping, you when people hate you.” To each of these, Jesus gives hope, reminding us that difficult times are not forever. The poor will inherit the kingdom, the hungry will be satisfied, the weeping will laugh, and the hated will receive their reward in heaven.

Difficult times are an invitation to dig deep into our memories of when the Lord has manifested Himself powerfully in our lives, and to remember how he never abandons us.

Four: Finally, keep in mind the ultimate goal of our earthly life: eternal life beyond the grave. “If the dead are not raised,” says Saint Paul, “neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.”

We have been created for eternal life with God. It is in Him that we place our trust, that everything we encounter on earth is merely passing, and we must set our eyes to things that last forever.

Ultimately, it is the water that Jesus provides that keeps us healthy during dry times. We pray today at this Mass, that the Body of Christ will be the strength that we need to say always and everywhere, “Jesus, I trust in you.”