By Sharon Nelsen
Genesis 15.5-12, 17-18, Psalm 27.1,7-8.8-9, 13-14, Philippians3.17-4.1, Luke 9.28b-36 (Scripture quotes from New American Bible)
In this year of Faith, we are challenged to look at our
religious Faith. Today’s readings bring
into focus true Biblical Faith, the Faith of Abraham which is trust in the
Person of God. Abraham pre-dates rules;
Jesus pre-dates doctrine. Trust in God,
Our Father, Jesus, Our Brother, the Holy Spirit, Our Advocate, moves us beyond unbending
adherence to a set of rules; to limiting our “faith” in God to working
exclusively by the laws of nature or through the current understandings of
science and medicine.
Abram, we are told after his conversation with the Deity, “put
his faith in the Lord, who credited it to him as an act of righteousness.” (Gen. 15.6)
Being in right relationship with God is trusting God beyond natural
limits, admitting that God, the Creator of the Universe is “allowed” to trump His
own rules.
When we trust in a person, we are not fearful of verbalizing
our wondering questions. Abram, when he hears the Deity promise him countless
descendants and land, models the wondering question: “O Lord God, how am I to
know (experience) that I shall possess it?” (Gen.15.8). Mary wonders how she is
able to remain faithful to her vow to God and bear His Son, “since I have no
relations with a man?” (Luke 1.34). Zechariah,
on the other hand, when told he will have a son, expresses doubt, not wondering,
for he “knows” the limits of the natural law. (Luke 1.18),
In the section before today’s reading in Philippians, Paul
illustrates the difference between rule-based faith and trust-in-a-person-faith:
“I even consider
everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing (experiencing)
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I
have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that
I may gain Christ and be found in him, not
having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes
through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith to know him and the power of his
resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death
(Phil. 3.8-10)
It isn’t about a set of rules, Paul tells us; it’s about a
relationship with Jesus, Jesus crucified and risen, the real Jesus, who
promises that “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body
by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to
himself.” (Phil. 3. 21)
A relationship with Jesus means “experiencing” him—not with
a cerebral knowledge that wobbles through crisis after crisis pleading for
help, but a personal relationship that sustains and strengthens us as we share
in His sufferings---the groaning pains of the Kingdom being born in the here
and now of our lives.
And how does Jesus let us experience Him? The Gospels reveal every way imaginable
including glimpses, as in today’s Gospel, of promised transfiguration.
Like Abram in conversation God, Jesus trusts that the Father
will reveal what needs to be revealed for the sake of the Kingdom. In this instance of providing an experience
of citizenship in Heaven, God strengthens Peter, James and John for the upcoming
journey of following the Messiah through His suffering and execution.
Peter doesn’t have a wondering question. He moves right into action, allowing us to
see how we look when we think we need to figure it out all by ourselves. But God moves the Rock of the Embryo Church
into the New Law, The Word Made Flesh: “This is my Chosen Son; listen to
him.” (Luke 9.35)
For us, ordinary laity, frequently the big wondering is how
do we go about developing a conversational relationship with Jesus? The
psalmist says, “Of you my heart speaks;” (Ps. 27.8) How does my heart speak? Do I know how to listen to my heart? How do I trust my heart?
For me, it begins with what I value. The
outside voice was highly valued in the era of my formation. It took decades for me to believe 1) I had an
inner voice; 2) It was “okay” to value it; and 3) It is permissible to act on
it! If I value first and only what
others think and their values, I cannot value as primary what I see and hear
within my own spirit.
Now, I have come to the place of hearing my inner
voice. The challenge for me is to value
what I truly hear from the deepest crevices of my heart. Out of my true self, I can begin to enter into
a real relationship with Jesus.
But, how do I discard decades of habits based on those “outside
voice values” that tend to impede development and growth in a conversational relationship
with the Lord?
1) By wanting to change those habits.
2) By asking God for the grace to change
3) By seeking help from all available sources: saints, angels, all who love and desire my wholeness.
Each morning, I ask, “What do I value today?” (Rather than, “What do I need to get done today?”) That question moves me to look within, to listen to the true voice, to put forth my wonderings; to value that voice.
2) By asking God for the grace to change
3) By seeking help from all available sources: saints, angels, all who love and desire my wholeness.
Each morning, I ask, “What do I value today?” (Rather than, “What do I need to get done today?”) That question moves me to look within, to listen to the true voice, to put forth my wonderings; to value that voice.
When I value what God has “talked about” with me, I can move
from private to public, as Paul shows us in the second reading---it is not
about theory; it is about moving outward from our own private transformations. It is about making my private conversation public,
and when I do, I build up the Body of Christ, just as all holy men and women
have done throughout the centuries
.
When I value God’s voice within, all acts that flow out of my conversation strengthen my trust in the Person of God in whom I live and move and have my being. Trust is wealth. It is not something we have because there is nothing else. It is THE something else! Our Faith tradition is built on the Faith of
Abram, the Father of Faith, the possessor of that something else—Trust in the
Person of God. No greater trust is
modeled for us than that of Jesus, who hands the Father His Life, “yet, not as
I will, but as you will.” (Matt. 26.39b).
Through that final, trusting relinquishment, Jesus makes true faith,
Holy Trust possible for all of us.
As each of us learns to trust God speaking within us, we are
able to contribute to the enrichment of the Body of Christ, the Living Church,
as God uniquely inspires us.
