A Moment Aside for 4 September 2020

 

A Moment Aside ---- 4 September 2020

     Faith is a virtue and a gift from God. In the Lutheran understanding, faith is more than an assent to a list of things to believe; it is trust that the one in whom we put our faith will lead us rightly. Faith is an active thing, something to be lived out.

     Richard Rohr, a Christian writer of our present age who is also a priest in the Roman Catholic Church and a member of the Franciscan order, has put the meaning of faith in a nutshell - as it were – with the quote at the top of this page. We often see doubt as the enemy of faith. We hear of evolution and might doubt that God made the world. We see wars and diseases and massive troubles around us and might doubt that God has any hand in what is going on right now. We see death and cruelty and suffering brough about by human beings and doubt that God loves the world… and us.

     I think that any of us might suffer from such doubts. Thomas the Apostle did and to this day is called “Doubting Thomas” although he ultimately believed. Peter the Apostle did and he sank like a stone when he tried to join Jesus as Jesus walked on the water. Paul did and found himself in prison among other nasty places. Martin Luther did and had to endure wondering how to please an angry God. They all may have doubted and in the end, doubt gave way to surrender of control. They may not have fully understood what was going on and where it was all going, but they believed the One who cared for them was in control.

     We like control. We crave it. We desire it. We want it and will fight for it. Faith tells us that we can give over control to the One who really is in control! Our control is an illusion and there comes a time to leave all illusions behind. We’ve never really been in control and those times we’ve assumed we were in control have often led to failure. Our desire for control often moves against - at the very least – the 10 Commandments.

     The sort of faith we’re discussing here is a lived faith, one that underlies our actions. If we believe that God loves us, it will affect all we say and do. That love influences our every move and touches all our relationships. If we demand control, we keep this love out.

     Years ago, a very learned Rabbi told me that the first Commandment of the Ten is the primary commandment; the other nine are commentary and only make sense if the First is seen rightly. They tell us how to live out the First Commandment of having no gods before the One God. To demand and retain and seek control can often result in making ourselves a god whose will must be obeyed by all things, all people, and all of creation.

     We all know how that will work out.

     Faith is trust, pure and simple… and hard to do. With it, all the other items will fall into place somehow. Trust in God for God has entrusted you with the grace of faith.