In the gospel reading for today, we hear from Jesus things like: “Daughter, your faith has saved you” and then, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” For Jesus it is all about faith. So, what is faith and what can that faith do for us? For me faith means ‘hope’. A kind of hope that whatever happens in my life one day Jesus will turn it into something meaningful, into something beautiful. Just think about it this way: if you had no faith, nothing in this life would make any sense. For those who have no faith, things like death, sickness, wars, injustice, and hatred limit their lives to only what is happening in this world. However, for those who believe, there is another world to come -- it is the world in which Jesus, the Son of God, will turn all our difficulties into something joyful and peaceful. And this is what faith gives us. No, faith will not free any of us from the difficulties or challenges of this world, but it does give us hope that one day our faith will save us.
