Heard a good homily recently... The first reading from Acts, Paul asked some believers how they were baptized and they said it was a baptism of repentance and so Paul baptized them and they received the Holy Spirit.
Then in the gospel, the apostles assure Jesus that “now we understand! We believe you came from God.” And Jesus retorted, “do you really understand? The hour is coming when you will scatter and leave me alone.”
Fr T:
“Sometimes a priest will be found, years later, to have baptized inaccurately or heretically, such as saying ‘We baptize you...’ instead of “I baptize you...” This makes something of a mess because then all the people who were baptized under this were not really baptized and will have to be baptized properly. I imagine someone saying, ‘Oh, what does it matter? God can provide the grace to overcome that limitation since it’s not the baby’s fault that the priest said the wrong words.’ And that’s right, it’s not the baby’s fault. But it does matter because the power comes from humbly doing what God tells us, not from our own understanding.
In the gospel the apostles put their faith in their understanding of God rather than in the person of God (Jesus). A faith based on our own understanding can't last us our whole lives and will crumble when God does something wildly unexpected (such as allowing the crucifixion of his Son). People often rely on their understanding of who God is rather than relying on God himself.”
Amigo de Frodo (Bishop Flores) has a similar take:
“Do you believe now?” As in “Really?”
Human criteria, even favorable to the Lord, do not reach the reality of faith because they are not based on obedience to God himself. They will “leave him alone” because his mission does not fit within their human judgements.
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