1 Peter 2:2-10
John 14:1-14
"I
do not seek to understand in order to believe; I believe in order to
understand. For I believe this: unless I
believe, I will not understand." Anselm
of Canterbury
Anselm, an 11th-century Archbishop of Canterbury
(spiritual head of the Church of England), likely coined the phrase,
"Faith seeking understanding (wisdom)". It was, in fact, his personal and spiritual mantra
in believing it is faith which ultimately leads to true wisdom, as opposed to
knowledge which can be gleaned from reading a book. Former atheist and prolific Christian writer
C.S. Lewis shared this sentiment in stating, "I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun rises; not only
because I see it, but because by [the sun's light] I see everything
else." We also must not dismiss
what is written in the Scriptures: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom" (Proverb 1:7a).
I would suggest St. Peter was alluding to this very
thing when he admonished his audience to "long for the pure, spiritual milk so
that by it you may grow into salvation - if indeed you have tasted that
the Lord is good" (1 Peter
2:2-3).
That "taste", we Methodists believe, is
"justifying grace", the indelible mark the Lord makes on our souls to
assure us we have been forgiven of our past and have been given a new future once
we discover our need of a Savior and earnestly repent - that is, change the
direction of our lives toward
a more meaningful and purposeful life. So
Peter says once we "taste", then we should be hungry for even more - "IF
we have tasted at all" - so we may "grow" in the faith and "into
salvation".
Something must always come first to begin the
journey. True wisdom recognizes humans
are born with certain natural impulses and instincts which are innate to our
being, but we are not born with knowledge - and certainly not with wisdom. These are acquired over a period of time as we
learn and as we experience
life. We learn primarily from our
parents and then from the classroom, of course, but we learn our harshest
lessons in our experiences and mistakes from which wisdom comes. If we spend more money than we earn, we become
unnecessarily encumbered and risk at the very least peace of mind; at the
worst, homelessness or hunger. If we
drive too fast under certain conditions, we will either come out with better
driving skills or we will be towed to the nearest body shop (assuming we
survive the crash).
Sometimes life is unnecessarily cruel - and very often
life is just not fair (or does not seem to be) when we don't get our own way. The young girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria
by the terror group "Boko Haram" did nothing to deserve what they are
now enduring, not to mention the hundreds if not thousands of young women who
are kidnapped, sold, and traded around the world like commodities. And it is absolutely unjust that any child goes
hungry.
Faith (as abiding "trust") enables us to
move through (not around) these temporal moments not with disdain, hatred, or
thoughts of vengeance (which trap us in those moments) - but with dignity and a
stronger sense of purpose and self (which moves us through and beyond these
moments). Michelle Knight was one of the
women who had been kidnapped and held captive for over ten years in Cleveland
OH; she has since forgiven her captor just as she would ask to be forgiven if
she had harmed someone (Ariel Castro, the kidnapper, committed suicide in
prison).
This is the vision allowed by faith; the same faith
by which St. Stephen was enabled to see through and beyond the very cruel and
very unjust moment when he was violently and painfully robbed of his life for testifying
to what he knew to be true. It was this
faith which enabled Stephen, while he was being stoned to death, to offer a
prayer of mercy for the merciless (Acts
7:55-60).
To think, however, that Stephen simply popped into
this moment without any kind of preparation is being incredibly naive and
offers no depth to faith (trust) which must be developed and nourished and
nurtured and perfected which takes time and a LOT of effort - exactly like the married relationship
- exactly why the Lord led Israel by the long route through the wilderness for
40 years.
I would like to believe any one of us could endure Stephen's
moment and still be able to offer mercy to those who show no mercy, but the
truth is few of us have been adequately prepared for such moments as these -
not because such means of grace are not available but because too many have
convinced themselves these means of grace are not necessary. One either believes, or one does not.
Life comes as it does whether we believe or not, but
getting through these challenges and understanding the barriers and obstacles
and trials as means of attaining wisdom requires trust which keeps us moving forward - and teaches us the uselessness
of looking back at ways to "get even". It makes me think of an analogy someone once
shared about a piano's keyboard. The
white keys represent happiness and the black keys represent the sorrows in our
lives; yet all the keys are required together
to make music rather than noise - because each complements the next. This is the reality of life in this world and
in all generations by faith as we strive toward something more ... something
beautiful ... something meaningful ... "something worth believing" and pursuing "hungrily"
- almost with a sense of greed.
What the disciples of Jesus' time had witnessed for
themselves are the very same things we often pray for; a clear vision of The
Lord in our lives beyond the "wish-granting genie" or
"personal-favor-granter" many mistake Him for. Yet we cannot ignore the fact that in spite
of all they had seen and all they had experienced for themselves as first-hand
witnesses, they would still ask Jesus, "How can we know the way?"
(John 14:5).
Such statements as these only mean they had been
hanging out with Jesus, but they had not yet seriously considered what His words
and His works had meant. They heard the
words Jesus spoke (much like we often read the words on a page) and they saw
the works (but no clearer than you or I when reading about them) but they never
tried to put the two together. Without
actually engaging in what Jesus was doing but merely watching from the
sidelines with ambivalence, there is no way to fully "understand"
what Jesus' life and ministry was all about.
Hence Philip's statement; "Lord, show us the Father,
and we will be satisfied" (John
14:8). Really, Philip?? "Have I been with you all this time,
and you still do not know Me?"
The Church has been around now for some 2000 years,
but whether the Body of Christ
has been actively engaged in the lives of those who do not yet believe is the
question for us to answer today. Remember I shared with you a couple of weeks
ago that the Church was never exclusively intended for believers as a
"club" to hang out in.
The Church was (and still is), as the Body of Christ in the world today, always
intended as a vehicle, a means of grace by which "pre-Christians" may
come to know about what has endured for so long, what has given real meaning to
so many through the ages, and what can still offer more than they had
previously known or even thought possible. Something worth believing in and
worth living - AND - dying for; like the Sudanese woman who was recently
sentenced to death for converting to Christianity.
"The
one who believes in Me will also do the works I do and, in fact, will do
greater works than these" (John
14:12). Not
"may do" but "will do" - contingent upon these two simple
things: whether Jesus is worth believing in and what believing
in Him really means.
There must be a reason why we are all here, and
there are surely reasons why so many are not here - "reasons" as in
understanding it is never just one thing.
It surely must be something more than a mere habit (or a paycheck!) that
we show up on Sundays and other Holy Days.
What is it? To
discover? To learn? To grow?
Yes. Yes. And Yes!
BUT - to discover what? To learn
about what? To grow into what? These questions require answers because just
as surely as our entire lives must have meaning and purpose, so much more
should there be a reason why we gather toward this meaning and purpose - and
more importantly, why others should gather with us.
There is surely something worth believing - Someone
worth trusting. He believes in us enough
that He went to the Cross for the Holy Father and for us. We were worth dying for. Surely He is worth living for.
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