“Many began to believe in his name when they saw the signs he was doing” John 2:23

Faith. All of the readings speak about faith. The first reading speaks of the Ten Commandments and gives credibility to God for some of the things he has done for us. From the second reading we see that we are called to believe based on our faith and reason, so that we are not dependent upon signs from God. The Gospel also brings up this idea of belief that’s not dependent upon the signs of Jesus through the use of a sign.

Even though all the readings touch on the issue of faith, I find the second reading the most intriguing. In it, we not only see that God does call us to have faith in him without signs, but also that the least of God’s blessings are better than any human blessing. But in the second reading, we can see that there are signs from God to help us, but we should not be dependent upon them. One of the signs we have is Jesus’ death on the cross which can be looked at in a few different ways. One of the most common is that of a sign of love, but the action can also be seen as an act of trust in a calling and faith in God.

But how do we believe without seeing? This actually reminds me of the movie The Santa Clause. At one point, the father and son are in the North Pole and the father is asking why he can’t see everything that the son is seeing. The response is that he has to believe in order to see. Now I don’t think that the only way we can receive signs is if we already have a strong belief. Instead, I think that when we have a strong belief in the divine, we are more likely to be able to see the divine around us, whether this be in nature or people or through “signs.”

But how do you build up faith without seeing? I imagine it takes time, and a lot of work and patience. Faith is something we develop, not something that magically appears. And it does take time, and as we build up our faith, there will be times when we get frustrated, but we have to work through this frustration. I know for myself, for some reason I’ve always been drawn to two things, the Eucharist and people. Something keeps me going back to receive the Eucharist at Mass, even if I end up spacing out at and worrying about all that is going on around me, a peace comes over me after receiving the Eucharist that I can’t explain. I am also able to find peace in other people, whether it be in a conversation or watching people’s actions, for some reason, I am brought peace. This peace from the Eucharist and people helps me to continue on even when I am knocked down. Especially seeing the faith of other people helps me to continue on. So I guess what I’m trying to say is to use these signs as a way to move beyond the need for these signs and to become a sign for others. A “city on a hill”.