The Life of the Ordained Disciple: Gotta have faith!

 

In recent months, I have been watching Christian apologists (people who are schooled in the defending of what the Church believes) answer questions put to them and how they deal with all of the hot button issues of our time – from “How can we think that there is a God; to “Am I going to hell?”; to “Why can’t you affirm same sex relations?” I am not going to tackle those important issues here except to talk about God and what it means for us as humans to have faith in God.

So let me begin with the question asked in the Gospel, “Who do people say Jesus is?” There is a long list of thoughts: a good man, a good teacher/rabbi, healer and exorcist, wonder worker, prophet, and potentially the messiah. There are some who believe that he is John the Baptist come back to life or a prophet from long along like Elijah, who has come to usher in the new Davidic Age (the good ol’ days) by getting rid of Rome and becoming their own country again.

Other Gospels (Mark in particular) thinks of the journey of being a disciple is the answer to the question, “Who is Jesus?” Whereas in Matthew, we concentrate on the place where the question is asked: Caesarea Philippi. Caesarea is home to all of the known religions of the world in that day, including the Temple of Pan, all of the Greek stuff, all of the old religious stuff from the past and all of the new stuff too. Jesus is interest in asking the question is two fold: What do you believe and what are you committed to?

Faith is not something you can earn to put in the bank. Faith are not bonus you keep on a card to earn free stuff. Faith is about a relationship that you have with something or someone else. After all, who in their right mind questioned whether their vehicle would start and bring them to Church and will take you safely home after the service is done? How many times have you sat where you are now and did not check to see if the pew would hold you up? It is a relationship that you have come to trust. And you trust your car and you trust your seat because it has not failed you… right. Neither has Jesus! We come into this place to declare to the universe that we are in relationship with the living God and that Jesus Christ is Lord. And some good news? Faith is not about points or deposits it is about trusting in and participating in the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus on a daily basis. When we are faithful through trusting Jesus and participating in him, we have the whole thing which means that he has the power and the grace not us. Jesus is the powerful One. In Jesus, we are made complete and we are competent to proclaim his Good News.

So how does this work out in life? How do we know that we have faith? Well, you are probably sitting down to read this message. Did you check the device you are sitting on before you sat down? A pew or a computer chair. Had you sat there before? Did you check it out then too? I am certain that where you are sitting now, you have done so before, perhaps many times before. You have learned to trust that device. Learning to trust Jesus Christ works in the same way. You may not even know how many times you have trusted him to come through for you – and unaware of answered and unanswered prayers and how that has affected your life. Maybe, it is time to recognize that you are a person of faith – a mighty man or woman of valour. Maybe it is time to take a step forward, a step out, a step up and do something that you believe God is calling you to no matter how big and how little you believe it to be. Then watch as God uses it for his kingdom and his glory. And then do it again and again.

Jason+