I will extol Thee, my God and King, and bless Thy name forever and ever. Everyday I will bless Thee, and praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable.
Psalm 145:3
It is easy to have “faith” when everything is going right in life. It doesn’t take much faith to enjoy a good meal at one’s favorite restaurant, or to take a dream vacation. These things might be the result of hard work, but faith doesn’t really figure into them. Faith is manifested most strongly when everything is going wrong in life, when there is uncertainty, when there is pain, sorrow, loss.
There are a lot of people in my life who have cancer. Some of them are priests, serving in other areas of the country. Two schoolmates from my seminary days who are clergymen have passed away in the last two months. Several parishioners have cancer, two diagnosed since Pascha. And all of these people are young. My two friends who passed, one in the mid-60s, one in the mid-50s. The people in my parish are all 50 or younger. People get sick all the time—young people, older people—and perhaps I’m just noticing this now because usually the people who I minister to who are sick are in the older demographic. It is true that no one likes being sick, no one wants to suffer. No one wants pain, and no one wants uncertainty.
I spoke with a young person recently and said to them, “If I was in your position, I’d want someone to ask me three questions.” And then I asked them these three questions: “Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the goodness of God? Do you believe that God is good to you?” The answer to all three questions for this person, is YES! I believe that faith is being able to answer these three questions with a “YES” in all times and in all places, in all circumstances. That should be the goal, that is the ideal, that is faith.
Now, before we continue, we must say that faith is not enough. There must be “works of faith” associated with faith, works done in faith, works that demonstrate our faith. It is not enough to believe in God. One must live a life that reflects that belief. And even this is not enough, because no amount of faith and works can guarantee us the Kingdom of God. To enter into the Kingdom of God is a gift that is granted because of the grace of God. Faith plus works plus grace is the salvation equation. But for today’s reflection, let us focus on faith.
There are two aspects to faith. The first is believing in God and
believing in the message of salvation as revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The second aspect to faith is trusting in this message even when life is difficult.
The first aspect, believing in God, covers believing what we confess in the Creed. I’d like to think that even nominal Orthodox Christians have some belief in what we confess in the Creed. The question “do you believe in God?” I would think most people would answer “yes” with some kind of varying degree of confidence. Yes, a varying degree. Some people won’t say more than that. There is an “I believe in something” that is backed up by not much of anything. Personally, this question is very easy for me to answer. I absolutely believe in God. Always. Does my behavior always back up that belief? No. But do I ever waiver on this question. No, I never do.
The next question is “do you believe in the goodness of God?” Most people, even nominal Christians would say they believe in the goodness of God. After all, what is the alternative, that God is evil? Most people would ascribe a degree of goodness, power, “the Almighty”, etc. to God. Looking at certain people and pastoral situations, I sometimes wonder if the goodness of God is selective. At times it seems elusive. Why does He seem to offer favorable outcomes in certain situations, while they remain more elusive than in others. I have wavered at times on this question. Difficult pastoral situations, living through 9/11 as well as hurricanes that have devastated my state, sometimes I wonder about this question.
The third question, however, is much more difficult. Do you believe that God is good to you? How we answer this question says a lot about our faith. Personally, I struggle with this question. I feel that in comparison to others, my life is easy. I’ve never had a life-threatening illness, or been unemployed, or gone hungry. I’ve never worried where my next meal will come from, or if I’ll have a roof over my head. Even when our city was threatened by a hurricane, the worst that could happen would be to lose my house and have to rebuild it, and that’s why we have insurance. I’d like to think that in a real crisis, I’d answer this question with a “yes.” But the truth is that some challenges and setbacks in life have caused me to waver on this question. I would say for this question, I am still a work in progress.
I have counseled many parishioners over the years who have faced severe crises, where faith might get called into question. I know what it is like to lie on an operating table, or in an MRI tube—I’ve done both many times. So, I can envision at least to some degree what these things looks like for these people. I have never laid on the operating table with a life-threatening illness. I cannot imagine this part. And while I can say I’ve prayed at those moments of medical treatment, it was a prayer for my benefit, Lord, make me better; Lord, lessen the pain and anxiety. It wasn’t a statement of faith. I didn’t lay there and praise God for how good He is to me. The next time I am in that situation, I will think about these questions a little more, and hopefully be able to say in my heart, “Lord, I still believe in Your goodness towards me.”
We will all stand in front of the Lord at the awesome judgment seat and answer for our lives. I hope when I do, and when He looks back at my moments of crisis, that I’ll be able to say to Him “On my worst day, in my worst moment, I still had the faith to believe, not just in You, and not just in Your goodness, but in Your goodness to me.” To grow in faith is to be able to answer all three questions in the positive, at all times, especially the third one, to believe in the goodness of God towards you in all situations.
Rejoice in the Lord, O your righteous! Praise befits the upright. Praise the Lord with the lyre, make melody to Him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. For the word of the Lord is upright; and all His work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of Hi mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; He put the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him! For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood forth. The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to naught; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage! The Lord looks down from heaven, He sees all the sons of men; from where He sits enthroned He looks forth on all the inhabitants of the earth, He who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds. A king is not saved by His great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and shield. Yea, our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in Thee. Psalm 33
Remember these three questions and answer them often: Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the goodness of God? Do you believe that God is good to you?
