Too Good Not to be True: Homily for Sunday, June 28, 2026

Too good not to be true. To be a member of the church means that we too, like the apostles, and like so many saints in the history of the church, must be willing to do whatever it takes to do the will of God. We must do whatever it takes to put our lives on the line because we believe that Jesus is worth it. Readings for Today.

Too Good Not to be True

We have all probably heard the expression that if it is too good to be true, then it probably is. We probably have had the experience, at least many of us, that we could inherit a lot of money from Nigeria if we only provide our bank information. Perhaps we all dream of the lottery, thinking it will solve all of our problems if we win.

All of this can cause us to think that we, in fact, should not trust anyone. People who are too nice to us should be treated with suspicion. That deal that is offered to us, that seems unbelievably good, probably is. Again, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.

But, what if there is an instance that if something is too good to be true, it must be true? For this is the promise of faith. When we think of the salvation God offers us, what we imagine is simply too small. Put another way, our wildest dreams are simply not wild enough.

Without this understanding, that if something is too good to be true, it probably is, then the first reading is difficult to understand. Why would this woman seek to build a place to stay for someone who speaks the word of God, but does not actually do any work that produces a financial profit?

In the time of Elisha, women were in a particularly difficult state, particularly if they were women without children. For it was the duty of children to care for their parents if one of them died, particularly for a woman who didn’t have the opportunity to really go out and get a job because there were no jobs to be had for women. The woman in today’s first reading does have great care. She is married and she is supported. But later, the prophet will ask something of her that is very difficult. It will be the case that the widow will have to leave security to take on something quite difficult.

Her respect for the prophet is such that she is able to see in the prophet the message from God that enables her to trust. To be sure, she could be taken. She could think about what is being asked of her to be unjust or too difficult. But she trusts Elisha because he is a prophet.

There are times in our lives where we face the same thing. The real choice for us is one where we are asked to trust God, even when we might not understand why God would ask something of us or when we think to do what God asks of us is too difficult. Can we do it? Can we trust God?

In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes a stark and bold request. Can we so love Jesus that we are, so to speak, all in? Can we so trust Jesus that we will go wherever it is that Jesus leads us? Can we allow ourselves to see in Jesus God himself? For Jesus is God.

The challenge can be that in a difficult world, it can seem almost naive that we would put such trust in Jesus. How is it we can know that we should trust Jesus? Do we really believe that Jesus is trustworthy?

Sometimes we can reduce our faith to simply and only doing good things. Some people say, “I’m a good person.” But when Jesus calls us, is that enough? Does Jesus, who is God, only call us to be a good person? Or is it the case that Jesus requires a different level of belief?

Consider the apostles. They could have believed that Jesus was only a good man, asked them only to be kind, and left it at that. But a careful reading of the New Testament tells us that when they answered the call from Jesus, it was a call that demanded far more than simply being kind.

It would have been easy for the apostles to dismiss Jesus after his resurrection. They could have said to themselves, “We should have known that if something is too good to be true, it probably is.”

But they did not. When they encountered the risen Christ, they knew that Jesus was the real deal. They were able to see that Jesus was one who not only made great promises, but also one who backed up these promises. The hope he offered was backed up by the very gift he made of offering his own life for us.

The reaction of the apostles should serve for us a reassurance that just as Jesus promised new life to the apostles, so too he makes the same promise to us. For when we consider the testimony of the apostles, it is far more likely when they preached about Jesus, they were telling the truth.

Not one of them denied their encounter with the risen Jesus. All of them continued to speak out boldly in the name of Jesus. Except for St. John, all of the apostles were martyrs. Not one of them recanted their beliefs to save their own life. They put their lives on the line for the sake of the gospel.

So what about us? Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to so trust in Jesus that we will go wherever he leads? Are we willing to admit that our good works come in fact from the foundation of our faith and not the other way around?

To be a member of the church means that we too, like the apostles, and like so many saints in the history of the church, must be willing to do whatever it takes to do the will of God. We must do whatever it takes to put our lives on the line because we believe that Jesus is worth it.

For the promise of God really is too good to be true. The ultimate promise of God is a relationship that is so powerful, so true, so loving, that it is the very thing that we give everything for. The man who sells all he has to buy a field or a pearl.

The promise of God is simply too good to be true. But because Jesus himself is both God and truth, we can count on it.

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