When we talk about ‘faith’ probably most of us imagine we are talking about religious beliefs. But the theologian Paul Tillich would say that even supposed non-believers believe in something. It may not be God but it could be nature, science, a set of principles or even something like the free market economy. We humans need a sense of containment and belonging in order to feel secure in this world, so we look for something or someone larger than our own small selves to believe in, to rely on, and then put our ‘faith’ there. But this is not the meaning of ‘faith’ in our readings today. Sr. Mary McGlone, who writes the Scripture column for the National Catholic Reporter, says “faith is not a belief in something…[it is a] radical openness to whatever God is bringing about.” She says “faith is a verb,” an action word. It keeps us moving and open, “ready to be taken by surprise, and to be led in ways [we] could never anticipate.” This is what we see in the story of Sarah and Abraham leaving their home country to wander in the desert for 40 years, not knowing where they were going except to some “promised land” they ended up never seeing. Still, they believed their descendants would get there because they trusted God’s promise. Faith as ‘openness to change’ is also what we hear in Jesus’ words to his friends as they walked with him toward Jerusalem. They didn’t know where they were going either, but they trusted him, which opened them to whatever God was bringing into their lives through him. They left the security of knowing where they were headed even when, at times, they begged to know the future, wanted concrete answers, and sometimes resisted where Jesus seemed to be taking them. Their world was changing dramatically just as ours is today. It was changing on a smaller scale, perhaps, than ours, but first century life in Jerusalem and the surrounding region was full of tension. Religious and political earthquakes were brewing that would completely destroy a way of life that had been in place for generations. In less than 40 years after Jesus died the Temple in Jerusalem would be gone, demolished by the Romans, and the ancient Jewish system of worship would abruptly die. In the midst of such disruptive forces threatening to befall the region Jesus tells his friends not to live in fear. He addresses them as a “little flock”, setting them apart from the mainstream because of their faith in a God who calls them beyond their comfort zone into an unknown future.
Jesus knows how small this flock might always be! How many people do you know who live in the moment-to-moment assurance that God is ever-present and, therefore, all is right with the world? How many of us are convinced the things we cannot see are trustworthy? The writer of Hebrews says this is what constitutes ‘faith.’ It is that openness to the winds of change, trusting God’s Spirit is in those winds. That same writer reminds us that our ancestors who were full of FAITH did not receive, for themselves, what had been promised. They passed their faith in that promise onto their children.
ALL previous generations of faith-filled ancestors were in the same boat as we are. NONE of them obtained what they had been promised. Why do we expect things to be different for us? Like them, we also are called to live in “the faith of things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen.” Why? Because that’s what faith is—trust in God to lead us all toward a good and holistic future we can’t possibly imagine. Because that’s who God is and what God is all about.
We are here to do our part. We don’t even know what that part is and we need to let go ‘expecting’ to know. The oars of this life-raft are in the hands of God who is steering it through all of US, together, in some mysterious way. Our job is to loosen our grip on the oars and trust God to guide us through the rapids that are threatening to sink our flimsy craft. Who among us isn’t feeling and fearing the rapids, the rush of time and life and the sheer effort and energy it takes just to stay in the boat and keep afloat? We must stop blaming each other for the crises of our times, because that won’t help us at all. What’s needed now are Faith-FULL people who can lead the way with practical skills, sensitive concern for everyone involved, and patience with each other and with God’s unknowable timing. We need people who can lead simply by their presence and their openness to the winds of change Spirit is bringing our way. We need people who have put away fear, despair and the need to blame and punish, people who are willing to walk toward the future with FAITH, and with hope in their heart. It is our responsibility as ancestors to the following generations to hold onto and pass along this foundational faith in God’s inclusive, whole-making, compassionate and merciful plan, and our place in it because fear can, at least for a time, swamp this raft.
As a community we form one small part of a grand movement that is God’s own life taking form and changing the landscape of our world for the good of everyone everywhere. It isn’t ours to know how this happens or even what part we play in the Divine scheme. We may be a little flock, Sophia Christi, but we are vital to the whole in some way we will never know. We have been given much over these last 12 years, and we are entrusted with what we’ve been given. Faith is one of those gifts. Inclusivity is another. Respect for the Divine dwelling in every person, in all of nature, and in every situation under heaven is yet another. This is part of our legacy given to be shared with others and handed on to the next generation. If we live this faith to the best of our ability out there in the public square even some closed minds might have the courage to open. Faith matters. So, “do not live in fear” our guide and companion tells us. As you enter your 13th year as a community, Jesus tells us, have courage, little flock. I am here.
Leave a Reply