S1 E7: Trustworthy Hope

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

When people have hope, they also have faith because they hold a conviction that says, “I believe that the future will be better.” There’s no proof – there’s just faith. That, in a nutshell, is trustworthy hope – which comes to us from God himself, which is the focus of Father Mark’s podcast today, coming up after we hear the Gospel reading for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time for January 26, 2025. It comes to us from, Chapter 1, verses 1 -  4, and Chapter 4, verses 14 - 21: 

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us, I too have decided, after investigating everything accurately anew, to write it down in an orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received.
 
Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region. He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.

Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, "Today, this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."

The Gospel of the Lord

“Trustworthy Hope,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

As we go about the business of our lives and immerse ourselves.  In the affairs of the world, what fascinates us? What captivates us?  What intrigues us?  As day goes after day and moment, goes after a moment, what are those things that come along our way that cause us to stop and to pause because they're bringing us to a deeper, different place, a place perhaps that's even pointing toward truth, a place deep within? 

What are those things?  Even the young people here today who are obviously in school, going to classes day after day, there are those times when you might be in a class with a particular teacher, a particular subject, and something's being talked about that captivates you, that intrigues you, that gets your attention, so much so that you perk up and you actually want to hear more about what is being said. And it's that moment of interest, really, where true education can begin to take root because there is now a relationship between the student and the instructor. 

What captivates you?  

Those folks many, many years ago, gathered around Ezra as Ezra read the word of God. And as they listened to what was being proclaimed, to what was being said, they began to weep and raise their hands in prayer. Many, many years later, another group of people gathered around Jesus in the synagogue as Jesus read.  And they all looked intently at him. He captivated them, intrigued them, got their attention. Why were these two moments so transforming for these particular folks? 

Well, it might have something to do with the fact that we believe that Jesus is the word become flesh. We just finished celebrating that very beautiful Christmas season, where that is the focal point of our celebrations: the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is the Word. So, interestingly enough, as Jesus was reading the Word, Jesus also is the Word, and so there's great power in the Word.  

You know, when we read a book, we're so used to a book containing words. Words on a page. And as we put one word after another, we make a sentence, and then that sentence links to a story, and we take away a message from what we've read. But with the Holy Word of God, it's a little bit different because in the encounter with the Word, we are really encountering the living and true God, so then we hear the scriptures proclaimed whether it's at Mass or whether we break open the scriptures at home as a part of our prayer. We're not just reading words on a page. We're not just listening to another story. We're encountering the living God, and that changes things up.  Just as every time we celebrate the Eucharist, we encounter the living God.  

So, if the Word of God is an encounter between us and God, what is being stirred? What is the takeaway from that encounter?  What is it that God desires to give? Well, the answer to that question is hope. Hope.  

Page after page of scripture. Page after page of God's word is another message of hope. Of hope. Now, we all have hopes. I hope I can get through Mass today without falling asleep. I hope I passed that test on Tuesday. I hope I get a new promotion in my work. I hope my mother gets over her illness. I hope that I can live until 80. I hope my marriage can endure this latest trial.  

We all have human hopes. And we rely on these human hopes more than we realize sometimes and they comprise the bulk of our lives. And these human hopes are okay as far as they go because on Thursday, when I get that test I took on Tuesday, and the result is a big fat "F,” so much so for that hope. Yes. Now, I gotta find another one to replace the one that just disappointed me.  So, our human hopes are very limited. They're very "this world" orientated and very much about ourselves and our own particular needs. Whereas the hope that gets played out in scripture, the hope that God is telling us about is what Pope Benedict calls "trustworthy hope." Trustworthy hope. And that's a different kind of hope. That's not a hope we can give ourselves.  We can't go out into the world and find trustworthy hope. The only place we can get trustworthy hope is from God. And when we encounter the living God, the takeaway is trustworthy hope. And so those folks, many years ago, when they were listening to Ezra and those that gathered around Jesus, received the gift of hope.  They realized that God was with them and that somehow life wasn't going to simply fall apart. And they didn't have to worry about keeping it all together, that God had a huge role to play in all of this. 

You know, the Christian carries an amazing gift, a gift that we often don't recognize and one we most certainly take for granted, and it's the gift that our life will never end in emptiness.  Think about that for a moment. As a Christian, we believe that our life will never end in emptiness. Never ever. The hope of eternal life is there for every single one of us, regardless of what happens in this life. And so when I encounter God, and I receive this gift of trustworthy hope, then I'm able to put one foot in front of the other and encounter my life, a life that is often challenging and difficult. But I do so holding onto my faith with perseverance because I know that the end goal is gonna be something incredible and fantastic. And so, the sufferings of this moment became nothing compared to that glory to be revealed in us.  

When I hold onto that trustworthy hope, I hold onto the hope that my sins can be forgiven, he hope that I'm eternally loved, the hope that God is with us, the hope that I'm not alone, the hope of salvation.  

You see, trustworthy hope changes up our lives and changes them dramatically if we trust that hope, seek it out, and cling to it.  So let us, going forward, listen attentively to the Word of God and less to the voices of the world and less to our own voices. Because it is only the living and effective Word of God that can assure us time and time again, as we all come here, regularly and often for one valid reason, and that's to receive hope,  to be reminded again,  that I can continue to do this, that I can continue to move on,  that life has meaning,  that life has purpose, and life will never end in emptiness.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app, and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.