Wednesday, June 20, 2012

4 Pentecost 2012

In Neil Stephenson's novel Anathem two atheists are watching a service in a monastery. One is explaining the prayers to the other. "Why do they keep telling their god how great he is? Does he forget frequently?" "This is just the prelude, then they ask for goods & services." Don't blame the atheists, they are just describing what they see. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" "Teacher, do you not care that I am unemployed?" "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" "Teacher, do you not care that I have cancer?" "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" "Teacher, do you not care that my sister got gran's china?" "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" "Teacher, do you not care that this life is not a perfect paradise where I get everything I want?" "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" The fretful Christian is a greater threat to the spread of the Gospel than all the atheists and all the jihadists put together. We all stand up and confess our faith in the words of the Creed. But when we show by our deeds that we are making our decisions based on fear, we tell everybody that we are liars. Now let's be clear a moment. We are not talking about a feeling of fear. When your car starts to skid or you hear something go bump in the night - you feel fear. That is an involuntary emotional reaction. We have no more control over those feelings than we can control how fast our hair grows. It is when we make the choice to act on that feeling that we deny our faith. "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" Didn't I bring you the good news of eternal life? So it isn't that you are perishing, it is just that you didn't really believe me. "Teacher, do you not care that I am unemployed?" Didn't I tell you about the lilies of the field? So it isn't that you are unemployed, it is just that you don't really believe that God will provide your daily bread. "Teacher, do you not care that I have cancer?" Didn't I teach you about the man who was born blind? So it isn't that you have cancer, it is just that you don't believe that this too is for the glory of God. "Teacher, do you not care that my sister got gran's china?" Didn't I teach you about treasure in heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal? So it is not the china, you just don't believe that your sister is more important to me and to you than the china. "Teacher, do you not care that this life is not a perfect paradise where I get everything I want?" Didn't I teach you that there was a perfect paradise, until your first parents broke it? So I came to give you a new world where you get exactly what you need, even if it isn't what you want. So it isn't that you don't get what you want, it is just that you don't believe that I know what is best for you better than you do. How do we respond in faith? When we feel fear, we act against the feeling not with it. We rebuke the winds of emotion in faith. When there is a storm at sea we pray and pull on the oars knowing that the ship is in Gods hands. If we come to shore we will give thanks, if we drown we will come indeed to a better shore, and give thanks all the more. When we are unsure of how we will pay our bills we pray and humble ourselves to accept the loving charity of our brothers and sisters. Knowing that our vocation, our calling is from God, not the want-ads. When we are sick we pray, confessing our sins and seek the lesson of the suffering. Knowing that to live is Christ and to die is gain. When we are wronged we forgive, knowing that the person who wronged us is as precious to God as we are and that our love for them is greater than any thing they may have broken or stolen. Teacher do you not care? Yes I care very much, about you! So much that nothing can snatch you out of my hand.

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