Transcript
Believe in God. Believe also in me. Please be seated.
Belief can be a tricky thing. Having faith in something we cannot see or feel or fully know. A few weeks ago I preached on faith and on doubt. And how we cannot have faith without doubt. And poor doubting Thomas got the brunt of that message. Especially when Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
And last week I preached on shoes. And being called to follow Jesus by following his voice. And I touched a little bit on what that voice sounds like if we were lucky enough to hear it. And in between Gareth was here representing Chenko and Alma James and Camp Chenko. And he talked about finding God in the moments outside of church. Sunsets and friendships and children’s laughter. And having faith and knowing God in the everyday moments of life.
But faith believing in God is not always easy. In fact it can be particularly challenging when we do all the right things and we follow all the rules and we believe all the stuff we’re told to believe and yet we still don’t get it. Whatever it is that we are longing for, crying out for aching for. Then faith can feel a lot heavier a lot harder a lot more like a challenge than a relief.
Add to it this very complicated and somewhat overwhelming passage from John. It’s worth noting the beginning part of this gospel passage is often heard during celebrations of life services. That’s what the Episcopal Church calls a funeral service. Jesus offering a way to God the Father. Jesus offering himself as that way. And Jesus promising to be with us and to bring us to that place that God has already prepared.
I imagine this can be very comforting. And I also imagine it can be challenging too. Especially if we’re just not there yet. If our faith is still shaken by whatever loss we’re dealing with today. Because let’s be honest, we’re all dealing with loss. We’re all dealing with the emotions that are part of the human experience and while some of us might be carrying more than others in this moment we’re all carrying all of it. So when Jesus starts this passage from John’s gospel with do not let your hearts be troubled that can be a challenge when our faith is feeling still feeling a little bit unsteady.
Quick disclaimer and you probably know where I’m about to go. It’s okay to have faith that feels unsteady. It’s okay to be confused and angry at God. In fact, I imagine it’s all part of the whole equation that is required to have faith, to believe in God. It’s all part of the whole equation of being human. We are not called to like God all the time. And perhaps that’s part of what faith is.
It’s something deeper than those basic emotions of mad, sad, glad, surprised, afraid and disgust. Something deeper than a friendship or being told to quote like someone or something. Faith belief in God, it comes from something deeper. Something more raw and rough. Something that really only the one who knows us the best can fully understand and that one is God.
Faith is absolute obedience. But it doesn’t mean blind obedience. It doesn’t mean we can’t challenge or push back or be angry or not understand and perhaps that might be just a little bit of what Jesus is talking about in the second half of this passage.
Philip wants evidence. Like Thomas, he wants tangible, tactile, observable evidence of Jesus Christ and God the Father. But Jesus doesn’t give Philip what he wants. Instead, Jesus promises that knowing Jesus means knowing the Father. Knowing Christ means knowing God.
Having faith means believing and then we’re right back at the beginning of the conundrum that is faith and belief. How are we to believe if we do not get evidence that such belief is worth it? How are we to believe if we do not get support or little glimmers or quantifiable evidence of the God we so desperately claim to believe in, long to believe in struggle to believe in. That’s when faith comes in. When belief only gets us so far.
So when Kierkegaard talks about faith as a leap a pushing off from one spot and a landing somewhere new without really knowing where we will land. Much like one might leap from one side of a creek bed to the other hoping that our feet don’t get wet in between. But the reality is faith isn’t a graceful skilled leap like a dancer might do on a stage during the Nutcracker. For most of us faith feels more like a stagger or a stumble. Like trying to keep your footing when the ground beneath you doesn’t feel steady. When the other side of that creek bed feels a little bit too far away. When the next step is a step into darkness.
In other words for a lot of us faith can feel a lot more like taking a risk. It doesn’t always feel strong or certain or clear. Sometimes it just feels like putting one foot in front of the other. And hoping that’s enough.
And when you’re in that spot, not sure where to go next, not sure who to turn to next, not sure what will happen next, faith is remembering that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Faith is remembering that Jesus is the Christ who prepares the way for each of us. Faith is remembering that God is with us and shows us the way through Jesus Christ.
I want to go back real quick to something I said earlier in this sermon. I said something like some of us might be carrying more than others, but in this precise moment we are all carrying all of it. That might sound a little bit confusing because yes, some of us are carrying more than others. More grief, more pain, more loss, more confusion, more anger, more whatever it is that feels like a hindrance to faith. But together in community none of us has to carry all of that alone.
It’s what being in community means. Helping one another carry the burdens that are otherwise too heavy to carry alone. It’s one of the gifts of a faith community, a church and a congregation. We can support one another as we journey through this life together in faith.
And sometimes in those dark moments of questioning and unknowing and perhaps even faithlessness. Yes. There are moments when our faith feels strong. When we are wholeheartedly and fully believing in God and believing in Jesus just as Jesus tells us today in the gospel reading. And there are also moments when faith feels fragile or distant or even absent.
The absolute best thing to know about faith though is that God’s faithfulness to us does not depend on the strength of our faithfulness. God still loves us even when we are angry at God or confused by God or disappointed in God. God still loves us even when our faith feels fragile and unsure.
So to bring this all to a close, if today you find faith easy, you find believing in God easy, give thanks and give praise. And on the flip side if today faith feels hard or far away that’s also okay. It’s okay because it does not diminish or refute or deny God. It simply reframes who God is.
Having faith believing in God it does not mean having everything figured out. It definitely does not mean having a perfect life. Instead, having faith means trusting in God even when we cannot see the way and knowing that in those dark moments we are not walking alone and we are not lost. For Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. And when you can’t find Jesus you have all of us supporting you, holding you up, showing you the way.
The way to faith. The way to Jesus.
Amen. Amen.