Faith vs. knowdge

Proper 6 B18
4th Sunday after Pentecost
June 17, 2018

    My dear mentor and friend, Bill Mahedy, that I have spoken of before, used to say that he enjoyed seeing bumper stickers that said “Jesus is the answer”.  Bill’s issue with most of the folks who had that bumper sticker, or so he said was that he was sure they didn’t really know what the questions were…

    In our lessons today and in our opening prayer, the issue of faith comes up.  I find faith, or at least talking about faith, to be a difficult if not impossible task; and of course, it also depend who I’m talking to.  Faith, is not the same thing as knowledge; and I think that faith is much harder because there isn’t proof, which I think is the whole point; the minute we have proof of something, then it switches from faith to knowledge…

    Over the years, I have found it interesting to watch how people talk about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and faith… When I go to Barnes and Noble, I like to see the various books that have been written on spiritual issues.  It all tells me that we all have a desire for God; we all are seeking for some kind of connection to God and hopefully to each other; when we get into trouble is when we speak with certainty about God’s motives or about who exactly God is… another need we all seem to have is a need to have answers and to have things clear cut.  Well, there is nothing clear cut about prayer or about Jesus or the spiritual life.

    I am reading a book right now by Rachel Held Evans.  She spoke here at the diocese sometime last year. She talks about her journey from a place where her church provided all the answers to life; where gender roles were clearly defined, and God’s desires for her and her family were spelled out in scripture.  It was a place where faith was shown by how much you prayed and how you prayed; and if something bad happened, then it was proof that you didn’t have enough faith or that you didn’t pray hard enough. It’s a slippery place I think, because people are attempting to have knowledge of things that they cannot know; and, it’s ultimately incredibly hurtful to people and their relationship with God.

    Faith, it seems to me, is often quite simple; I can remember visiting my grandmother who was well into her 90’s.  She didn’t speak much English, but we managed, and I loved her dearly. Each time I got ready to leave after our visit, she would bless me; I can still hear her voice and the blessing in Spanish.  My grandmother was a tough old lady who had been around the block a few times, and she lived a rough life. Her funeral was probably the first time she had set foot in a church in decades; yet, she wanted to bless her granddaughter with the blessing and faith of her family.  I know she had faith in God… and I know that her faith sustained her in those last years when she lost her sight. Her blessing and prayers for me certainly sustained me.

    So to get back to Rachel’s book, and the Jesus is the answer bumper sticker… in her chapter on war stories, Rachel says “So to whatever extent God owes us an explanation for the Bible’s war stories, Jesus, is that explanation.”  Earlier she says, “On the cross, Jesus chose to align himself with the victims of suffering, rather than the inflictors of it.” (Pg 77).

    Let’s face it; on any given day, if any of us have faith the size of a mustard seed, it’s a good day.  Faith is hard; it takes living our lives in community where we are held accountable for our actions. It takes reading scripture together and struggling with the inconsistencies and the dreadful parts that don’t make sense.  Faith takes allowing the grace of the sacraments feed our hearts and souls so that we might experience Jesus in the flesh… Knowledge is good… but faith takes us further; and we know that it’s not a constant, we know that we struggle and sometimes need the faith of our community to carry us… and we have questions… lots of them, and questions need to be asked even when there isn’t an answer.  I am more comforted by an honest “I don’t know” than a sure “everything happens for a reason.” God so loved the world, that God is present in all of our lives in Jesus… Jesus so loved the world that he promised to be with us to the end of the age, and that he would be present when we gather to receive him at his table. He promised he would be in the midst of us whenever two or three are gathered… maybe he said that because he knew that whenever we gather, some of us would need to rest in the faith of the others…  May the love of Jesus surround us all, and strengthen us to have faith in him, and to love the world as he loves it. Jesus, is the answer, whatever the question might be…

Let us pray:  Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.