12 July 2016 - unless your faith is firm

[ Today's Readings ]

As humans we tend to value strength. We think of armies and governments as powerful. We think of weapons and money as the tools that make a difference in the world.

Thus says the LORD:
This shall not stand, it shall not be!

When we become more spiritual our focus shifts a bit. We think that spiritual power is indicated mostly by mighty deeds and miracles. There is some sense to this. God is all powerful. He is the one who himself transcends the rules and limits he has made and imposed on his creation. In some ways displays of the Spirit and of power are meant to give our faith a place to rest (see First Corinthians 2:4-5).

The trouble is when we begin to see this as the main way God acts. He is something more than the greatest power in the world. Were he not he would never have endured the cross for us. He would have solved the issue with strength. Instead of that, he used weakness and love to overcome the strength of the world.

It isn't strength that is important. It is faith.

But within sixty years and five,
Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.
Unless your faith is firm
you shall not be firm!

Mighty deeds themselves call for a response from us. We can't just see them and then be smug in the fact that we know the one who works them. They call us to faith and repentance. To whom much is given much is expected (see Luke 12:48).

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.

Mighty deeds do reveal God to us. But the revelation is given so that we can place our faith in him and follow him. He does not win the victory through force of arms. Rather, his weakness and his apparent defeat are the truest signs of a deeper strength. They reveal the strength of his obedience to the Father and his love for his Father and for us. This is what we are called to follow. The mighty deeds are given to shake us up and help us to look beyond our expectations so that we can discover God. Mighty deeds do mark the community of believers. The power of the resurrection begins to transform the world even now. This is not to be avoided nor stifled. But in a world still marked by suffering and death these mighty deeds are never the ultimate answer. They impel us on to give ourselves in love and sacrifice until the time when the LORD returns to wipe away the tear from every eye (see Revelation 21:4).

For lo! the kings assemble,
they come on together;
They also see, and at once are stunned,
terrified, routed.