What is the Meaning of "Faith"?
detail, “Deluge, Covenant, and the Rainbow,” art-glass window, FPCE
third in a sermon series, “Confirmation for Adults,” Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Mark 2:1-12
The Rev. John Hembruch, D.Min. + February 2, 2020
We are in the third week of a sermon series with the general theme, “Confirmation for Adults.” The first two sermons are available on our church website, fpcedw.org/blog. Having offered answers to the questions, “Who are you?” “Where in the world are you? and “Why is religion important?, today we will think together about answers to another question: “What is the Meaning of ‘Faith’?”
In popular culture, “faith” sometimes is portrayed as a mental superpower. It manifests itself in the ability of certain specially gifted people to concentrate their minds so deeply that they are able to transform the reality around them. Faith, some think, is Luke Skywalker channeling the power of “the Force” to lift his x-wing starfighter ship from the Dagobah swamp. But, in terms of the biblical witness, faith appears as something more than the extraordinary functions of the human brain.
Often, Christians have used action-words to describe faith. The author of our first scripture reading from the Letter to the Hebrews said that faith is like a journey; that people of faith are “like strangers and exiles on the earth” who are in search of a homeland (Hebrews 11:13-14). Faith keeps them going, even when the homeland is not in sight.
The same writer, whether Paul, Barnabas, Apollos, we don’t really know, suggested that faith is like a race, in which athletes put off every weight and burden and run with perseverance the race that is set before them. They are cheered on by the presence of those who have already completed the course. They are inspired by the example of Jesus, who leads the way (Read Hebrews 12:1-2).
Last week, I mentioned the great French thinker Blaise Pascal, who lived in the 1600s. He described faith as a wager. Faith, Pascal said, is betting your life that God really is made known in Jesus Christ.
Sören Kierkegaard, a Danish writer who lived in the 1800s, described faith as a leap. Reflection and meditation, Kierkegaard said, deceive us into assuming that by thinking alone we can know all the possibilities of life. Only by a leap into the depths, the unknown, only by a total commitment can a person have the full experience of the Christian faith.
What I’ve said in a past sermon, I’ll say again: faith is a two-part reality. According to Bible scholars, it starts in God’s action, and ends in human reaction. The Greek root “pistis,” say the Greek grammarians, connotes not just acknowledgement of the truth of something, but also a new kind of conduct inspired by it.[1] In terms of the biblical witness, faith starts with belief and ends in action.
In many different ways, the Bible confronts us with the question, “Do you believe in the God revealed in Jesus Christ?” It is one thing to say, “Yes, I believe,” then go on living life in a manner no different than others who do not believe. It is quite a different thing to say, “Yes, I believe,” then live in a way that is qualitatively different than the way you would have lived otherwise, to live as if your life and destiny depends on your belief.
“Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” is a 1989 action-adventure film in which a famed archaeologist, played by Harrison Ford, is drawn into the search for the Holy Grail, believed to be the cup from the Last Supper, and believed to carry special powers. To be clear, the belief in the Holy Grail is based not in the Bible, but in Arthurian legend. Yet it makes a great story. In negotiating the obstacles that lie between him and the grail, Indiana Jones learns a lesson about the nature of faith.
My former preaching professor Tom Long says that he used to think that the toughest thing to do was to defend his faith. Later, he came to the realization that to defend God, you only have to believe that you’re right. But to lean forward, let go, and step out in faith, you have to believe in God.[2]
Today, in order to a make a point, I’ve stressed the second half of faith’s movement, the part not just about believing with our minds, but doing something about it with our bodies. So it seems important to balance out that emphasis by saying that, according to the Bible, human reaction always follows God’s action. Faith is not the cause of God’s grace, but the result of God’s grace.
That theological truth is supported by today’s gospel reading from the second chapter of Mark. I was thinking about the experience of faith from the perspective of the paralyzed man. In the entire episode, he never says a word. That’s why I imagine him as not only paralyzed in his legs, but very sick, maybe even incoherent. If you put me on a mat, then let me down by rope through a makeshift hole in the roof, then I think I’d be calling out, “Be careful, don’t drop me!” or “Look out, below!” But the text gives no indication that the paralyzed man said anything.
Notice how Jesus recognizes faith, not in the man on the mat, but rather in his friends. They are the ones who display confidence in Jesus. They are the ones whose faith is expressed in action, as they engineer an approach to Jesus around the crowds, through the roof, and with some system of rope and sling. Then, Jesus heals the paralyzed man, forgives him for sins unknown to us, without an action from the man or even a word from his mouth. For him, Jesus’ forgiveness and healing are unearned. Any faith that resulted from his encounter was completely a gift of grace.
Even when we feel relatively healthy, the fact is that faith always is a gift of grace. Understanding the path we are to take is rarely simple, and taking the journey with Jesus is sometimes more difficult than we ever imagined. Sometimes, even after careful discernment, what we’re called to do may feel as frightening as stepping off a rocky cliff.
So when it comes time for us to step out in faith, and despite our best preparation our anxiety is high, may we discover that God does not allow the valley below to swallow us up in its depths. May we find our feet firmly planted on the path that Jesus has prepared. And may we experience the Holy Spirit holding us up, giving us direction and strength for the journey.
NOTES
[1] Entry on “Pistis,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel & Gerhard Friedrich, Vol. 7, p. 225.
[2] Personal notes, on a sermon by Thomas G. Long, Festival of Homiletics, First Baptist Church, Nashville, May 18, 2010.
