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The Warmth of Faith "Increase our faith." Luke 17:5 This, the hope of every Christian soul echoes the words of the Apostles. A strong desire is the feature of faith that we find in the images that Christ sets before us in the Holy Gospels. Zacchaeus, the Woman with the haemorrhage and Blind Bartimaeus are just three examples from many of those who possessed this fervent hope and determined single-mindedness to meet and see Our Lord. It is interesting to note that in these encounters it is those that are in need that seek Christ and pursue Him despite the rebuttal and indifference of others. Through their actions they so eloquently express the passionate cry of the heart to cast off the particular chains that bound them in dis-ease. They resort to drastic measures in a pro-active assault upon the Master. Whoever is a hearer and lover of the Word made flesh "takes the kingdom by force" exerting, as the fathers teach us, all their reserves of energy in order to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matt 11:12. Lk. 19:23 " And there was a man named Zacchaeus he was a chief tax-collector and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was but could not……so he ran on ahead and climbed into a sycamore tree to see him…." Lk. 8:43,44." And a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind him, and touched the fringe of His garment; and immediately her flow of blood ceased. And He said to her" Daughter, your faith has made you well." Mk.10: 47, 48" And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he (Blind Bartimaeus)began to cry out and say Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me…..and he cried out all the more" These three examples, in their own way, exhibit distinctive, persistent action that accompanies the warmth of faith, heated by the desire that will not take "no" for an answer. Contrast this with the warning that Christ brings through the revelation to St. John the Divine to the Church in Laodicea : Rev.3:16 " I will vomit you out of my mouth.., because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot." Our Lord would rather have us cold than lukewarm, half-hearted or nominal in our Christian faith, nothing less than total commitment is good enough, since that is what God’s commitment is to us, total. The warmth of faith is full of the Holy Spirit. This truth, stated by the priest at the infusion of hot water into the Chalice during the Holy Mysteries is essential to our spiritual growth. Our Lord points to the eagerness, enthusiasm and sheer exuberance of children as a prerequisite for acceptance in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:3,4. So why are so many people without faith or lacking in faith today. The cynicism of our modern age does not help with its analytic approach to life. Neither does the materialism that lulls us into a false sense of security. Such blandishments are not conducive to faith. Atheism often appeals to the intellect rather than the conscience and will of a person. The thought of God is not comfortable to those who are living in sin and the atheist often embraces the notion of the non-existence of God in order to justify his actions. To go on sinning without having to feel guilt is a matter of the will rather than the intellect. In order for faith to blossom we must want God as well as need Him. In His love and respect for mankind God gives us the choice. In the encounter with the lame man at the pool in John’s gospel (John 5:6) it is important to observe that Jesus asks him " Do you want to be healed?" A desire to be healed on the part of the infirm man was necessary. In "The Pilgrim Continues his way" the unknown Russian writer shows how we may first obtain faith: " For the salvation of the soul, first of all true faith is necessary. Holy Scripture says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God."Heb.11: 6. He who has not faith will be judged. But from the same Holy Scriptures one can see that man cannot himself bring to birth in him faith even as a grain of mustard seed; that faith is a spiritual gift. It is given by the Holy Spirit. That being so, what is to be done? How is one to reconcile man’s need of faith with the impossibility of producing it from the human side? The way to do this is revealed in the same scriptures: "Ask, and it shall be given you." The Apostles could not of themselves arouse the perfection of faith within them, but they prayed to Jesus Christ, " Lord, increase our faith." We must not relegate faith to an intellectual activity of the mind although we are rationally endowed creatures who can observe facts and assemble them. Rather, we have to leap through these facts to the truth that underlines and unifies them. Such a leap is not unreasonable. In a blazing house fire to leap through the window into a safety blanket below would save our life. Yet, it takes courage, trust and action; it is a matter of our will to live by responding towards the offer of life that is held out beneath us. Faith is indeed a gift, a grace to be cherished, nurtured and used. "Believing in God" is a world apart from believing that there is a God. The verbal expression of faith is to be seen throughout the Holy Scriptures in terms of a relationship with God where faith has an expectant and cathartic quality to it, despite the suffering, pain and sorrow. G.A.Studdert Kennedy whose understanding of faith, life and death was forged in the carnage of the First World War as a chaplain expressed this in a more poetic way when he writes: " I back the scent of life against its stink. That’s what faith works out at, finally." The Unutterable Beauty So many people express that superficial sentiment " I wish I had your faith" without being willing to spend any time with God in prayer or live out His gospel. Such transient vain wishes have no substance in the will. If we ask for an increase in faith we must be prepared to act on it when we receive it. Boldness in faith will bring us to the very heart of the Gospel and will lead us to a greater love of our Saviour. One of the early Christian writers, Cassian, described what it meant to place our desire for God first in our life: " God will be our whole love and desire, our whole study and labour, our whole thought, our whole life, our speaking and our breathing…. We will be so attached to Him that our whole yearning and thinking and speaking will be about Him alone." When our faith puts Christ first and above all then every other desire finds its proper place and meaning. It is then, when faith is warmed by love that we must expect miracles to happen. Father Jonathan |
