I believe I can safely make the statement that the world is in Chaos. I will not use the term “unprecedented” mainly because I think the media hype surrounding that word has caused it to lose its meaning and because I am not sure we are living in truly unprecedented times. We have been here before, on the brink of something, some calamity that is about to happen. It has become common, since January at least, to wake up in the morning and quietly say, “What fresh hell awaits us today.”
Last night, I had the honor of being the Chaplain for the National Lances 188th Anniversary Dinner. The National Lancers are one of the oldest, continuously functioning military units in Massachusetts. They are the mounted ceremonial unit of the Commonwealth and the military escort for the Governor. Last night, we gathered to celebrate 188 years of service.
I am their chaplain, as I am for many organizations, and it fell to me to open the evening in prayer. Among the other things one prays for at events such as this, I prayed for the safety of those deployed at home or overseas. I sat down, and the phone dinged. I looked down at the notification, “US bombs three nuclear sites in Iran.”
I will be honest and say that my first thought was to shoot; now, I will have to rewrite my sermon for today. This is not the first time I have had to do this, and unfortunately, it will not be the last. My continuing prayers will be for the safety of all involved in whatever comes next.
However, with that said, today’s readings are all about the power of faith and why it is necessary to have faith.
Paul tells us that before Jesus, we had the law, and it was the thing we relied on. Now, I like rules; rules guide us and keep us between the lines. Jewish law covered everything from dietary restrictions, how to raise children, how to plant crops, what to wear, when to worship, how to worship, etc. Almost all one’s life was controlled by the law.
Again, I like rules. I like not having to think about certain things; what does the rule book say about that? We are a people born out of chaos, now living under the rule of law.
But Paul tells us that since we now have faith, that is Paul’s way of talking about Jesus. We are no longer under the law, but we are guided by faith.
Faith is defined as “complete trust or confidence in someone or something.” Complete trust. Confidence. What are some things you have complete trust in?
There is an old exercise where a group of people, usually colleagues, gather, and the leader stands above them with their back to the crowd. At an unannounced time, the leader falls backward, sure in the knowledge that their colleagues will catch them before they hit the ground. Shall we try it?
But faith has another meaning. “Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.” Strong belief, not certain belief, not unconditional belief, not absolute belief. In other words, it is okay to have doubts.
I have a strong belief that if we were to try that exercise, I just mentioned, y’all would catch me. I have a strong belief, although it’s not absolute. Some of you look rather dubious this morning.
But faith is essential.
Luke tells the story of a man possessed by demons. This story has it all and has been sensationalized over the years. Some have used this story to show that demons exist and how they need to be dealt with. The modern attempt at explaining it all is to talk about mental illness, which is real and, I am sure, has some part to play in all of this, but we need to push past the sensationalized headline and look to what is really going on.
As I have mentioned before, I am not a scriptural literalist. I believe there is a lot of good in this book, and I also think there is a lot of nonsense. It is neither a history book nor a science book. It is a collection of stories assembled by a group of people hundreds of years after the events in the stories took place. It is confusing and has been used by everyone to twist a simple story into something much more difficult.
It is a complex book that requires knowledge of literature, theology, history, sociology, psychology, and yes, faith. For the most part, the people in these stories were real people. Jesus and Paul were real people. The bloke with demons, I cannot vouch for, but I am sure the pigs were real.
Allegory has been and remains a standard literary tool for telling a story. Allegory is challenging to understand because you need to drill down to find the hidden meaning. So, let’s look at this story with a different lens.
We do not know what is causing the problems the man in the story is having, but there is no doubt about its intensity. His life is essentially out of control. When Jesus asks, “What is your name?” The response is, “We are Legion.” This suggests that the man has a lot going on in his life.
Rather than looking at the supernatural, maybe look at day-to-day life. Perhaps he has lost his job and is unsure if he will find another one. He worried about the bills piling up and that he might lose his home. If he is married, he is likely watching his wife struggle to make ends meet. Perhaps his child is experiencing some difficulties, which is wearing on him as they try to navigate the school system and find the right fit.
Perhaps he is a combat veteran who has witnessed some things in his career that he cannot discuss with anyone. So, he holds it all in. There may be some things that trigger him and his thoughts, so when he sees things on the news, like bombs dropping, he starts to relive what he went through.
Maybe he is being crushed by economic uncertainty, tariffs, the political situation, troops on the street in his hometown, and masked men coming to take his relatives away. Perhaps he is married to the person he loves, but the ruling class does not accept that marriage, and he fears that his love will once again be deemed unnatural.
Perhaps he has an illness, but he cannot go to the doctor because, even with health insurance, he cannot afford the cost. Maybe he is retired and is on a fixed income, but the costs keep going up, and some months, he has to decide between eating and taking the medication that is going to keep him alive.
You see, this situation this man finds himself in is way more complex than he has a demon. And to reduce it to that does an injustice to the man in the story and it does an injustice to life.
We live with this idea that we are in control of our lives or that, somehow, God is miraculously in control. God gets blamed for an awful lot, and God gets praised for things that are not god-like, like dropping bombs in the middle of the night.
The point is that the weight of the world is crushing us, and into that storm comes Jesus, and if we let him, he will calm the waves. He is not going to solve your problems; he is not going to find you a job or pay your light bill, and you still have to do the heavy lifting.
Many years ago, I had a friend who was a firm believer in the power of prayer. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer, but not for the same reason as my friend. People would always ask him to pray for this and that, and he would gladly pray. Sometimes, people would come back and say, well, that prayer did not work, and the response was, you did not have enough faith. This is common practice in the evangelical world: you did not have enough faith.
My faith tells me that God exists and that God loves us. However, my faith also tells me that we have choices in life, and sometimes we don’t always make the right ones; those choices have consequences. My faith tells me that when I pray, I get a sense of calm. I cannot explain it, but it does.
After I broke my ankle, I was going to be moved to rehab, and that involved moving me by ambulance from one facility to another. The first move did not go well, causing a great deal of pain, so I was not looking forward to the next one. Just before the move, the nurse asked me to look her in the eyes. She had me take a few deep breaths to calm myself down and reduce my tension. She then said to me, “When you are ready, slide over onto the bed.”
I sat there for what must have been hours, very conscious of my breathing and praying. When I felt I was ready, I slid over, and although it was painful, it was not as painful as it was before. God did not move me; Jesus did not take my hand and lead me over. My prayer brought about a sense of calm that allowed me to loosen up, and when I moved, I was relaxed; that state of relaxation helped alleviate the pain. God did God’s bit, and I did mine. That’s how it works.
If you are waiting for God to come and solve all your problems, you are going to be waiting a long time. If someone told you that if you give your life to Jesus, your life would be fine, they lied to you. Life takes work. Faith takes work. God will do God’s part, but we still have to do ours.
If you are overwhelmed and feel like you’re being crushed by life, there is an answer. There is a calm that is waiting, and there is a community here to help you weather the storm. We cannot solve your problems; you have to do that, but we can guide you through the first step.
We need to have faith. You have survived 100% of your worst days, and you will survive this one too.
We are collectively going through a lot right now, but we will get through it. We have to do our part and have faith that God will do God’s part.
Amen.
