Faith is Not Knowing

Easter 2

John 20:24-31

There are a lot of things I don’t know.  (No surprise to those who know me…)   The more I learn, the less I seem to know.  The older I get, the more I discover the limits of my knowledge.  I have spent most of my adult life around universities and with people dedicated to expanding and deepening the field of knowledge in their particular academic discipline.  I have always appreciated academic pursuits and the life of the mind.  Knowledge and learning are vitally important and I regularly bemoan the fact that their value seems to be declining in our society.

But faith is not knowing.  Faith taps into something deeper than knowledge.  Faith is rooted, not in the mind, but in our relationship with the Transcendent.  In our relationship with God.  With God, who is always closer than our next breath.  In its simplest terms, faith is about trust.  As the writer of Hebrews puts it, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  (11:1) Faith is not something we do, or conjure up on our own.  It is not about knowing the right doctrines or behaving the right way or practicing rituals rightly.  No.  Faith is pure gift.  It is about being able to trust because God is trustworthy.  It is about being able to love God because God first loved us.  Faith “saves” us, not because we “do” it but because it “does” us.   What does Jesus say?  “You did not chose me but I chose you.”  (John 15:16)

Jesus tells Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29) In speaking those words, Jesus blesses all of us who don’t know a lot and who struggle with doubts, questions and uncertainty.  Jesus blesses those of us who live by faith, not by knowledge.  Jesus blesses the women at the tomb, the disciples locked in fear in the upper room, Thomas and all those who have a hard time getting their heads around the truth of the Resurrection, and the promise that Death has lost its grip on humanity… and somehow manage to believe it anyway.

A wise woman once told me that she is part of a community of faith so that, when she is filled with doubt, others can believe for her, and that when she is filled with certainty, she can believe for those who are struggling with doubt.  She prays for them when they cannot pray, and is confident that they pray for her when she cannot find the words or the will. 

There are a lot of days I am very grateful for the Church.  In spite of all our shortcomings, failings and proclivity for missing the point, God continues to love us and walk with us and do some pretty amazing things through us.  God continues to foster faith in us, even when we cannot see through the fog in our minds.  The scriptures are filled with stories that confirm this powerful truth, including the story of the one who is the Truth, and who rose from the dead to prove it.

Peace,

Bishop Mike

Thanks for reading!