Faith, By Any Other Name

 

Faith, By Any Other Name

 

1 John 3:1-7
3:1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know God.

3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.

3:3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

3:4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

3:5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

3:6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.

3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

WHAT does it mean to “believe”? This is the question of the day, as we examine the text of I John 3. We Christians talk of “faith” like it is something we all share, but just HOW and WHAT it means to each person is somewhat a mystery, as we don’t know what’s going on in each other’s souls. While Woody Allen’s autobiographical character, Alvy Singer, in the movie, “Annie Hall,” may say that he once cheated on a metaphysics exam by looking into the soul of the student sitting next to him, in reality, none of us have that power. When he was President, George W. Bush once said, after an extended meeting with Vladimir Putin, that he had “looked into his soul” and found a kindred spirit. He could not have been more wrong, as we have since found out. SO, when we say we “share a faith,” we really can’t be too sure about that, can we?

First of all, there is the whole matter of WHAT we believe. Mr. Wesley used to talk about the “essentials of faith.” Historically, we can surmise from his writings that his “essentials” involved three major beliefs:

 

1.Jesus Christ is God’s Son and the promised Messiah/Savior.

2.The Bible is our primary source for God’s revelation to humankind.

3.The church universal is the Body of Christ in the world, and is called to model faith, love, and mercy to the world.

John Wesley called his people to be of one mind about these “essentials,” but clearly, in his writings and sermons, he ruminated over many and oft-debated elements of each. For example:

What does it MEAN that Jesus is the Savior? How do we understand the atonement? How did his exit from the Mount of Olives affect his standing as Messiah? What must one DO to “be saved” or to accept God’s salvation offered in Christ? What of other religions?  

If the Bible is our “primary source” for revelation, why did Mr. Wesley also consult tradition, experience, and reason, the “other elements” of what Albert Outler called the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral”? Even within his own writings, John Wesley variously interpreted scripture, signaling that he did not advocate for a non-scholarly, “literal” interpretation of same, yet many of his followers today seem to have bought into this idea. 

If the church universal is the “Body of Christ,” why is it so divided? Even our own denomination, founded by Mr. Wesley himself, has just gone through another hurtful, angry division.  

My point here is that if these are the ESSENTIALS about which we are to have “unity,” in Mr. Wesley’s words, how CAN we, when we have so many disagreements over THEIR understanding?

To make matters worse, Mr. Wesley went on to say that beyond the “unity” we are to have in these essentials of the faith, we were to tolerate—even celebrate—and certainly feel free to debate what he called the “non-essentials,” saying about them, we should “think and let think.” Of course, we will never agree on these “non-essentials,” including the list of what they may be. A case could certainly be made that such current “hot-button” issues such as LGBTQ rights, gay marriage, and even abortion are on this list, items which have led to much debate, and even infighting and division. However, it is clear that theologically “conservative” persons would balk at them being labeled “non-essentials,” but historically, they would have a hard time making a case for them to be added to Mr. Wesley’s “essentials.” Then, what are they? 

Wesley also asserted, “In ALL THINGS, charity,” which is an archaic word for “love.” This brings us to this weekend’s lectionary text from I John 3.

Beyond some of the “coded” and esoteric language such as “lawlessness,” or the phrase, “we know not what we will be…but when he is revealed, we will be like him,” the first word that stands out to me in the passage is “love,” in the first verse. Echoing what Jesus himself said, this author suggests that we are called “children of God” BECAUSE of the love of God, revealed in and demonstrated by Jesus Christ. If there IS an “essential” of the Christian faith, this is it! In the next chapter, this pastoral epistle author will tell us, “God IS love.” If we accept this, then WHAT we believe, as Christ followers, must start with LOVE as its foundation. If God IS love, how can we say we believe in God without love being primary to any such belief? Frankly, I saw very little love at work in the disaffiliation process that separated many churches, pastors and people from our denomination. As far as being “children of God” and witnesses of Christ to the world, this was far from our finest hour, friends. 

A faith based on love has necessarily to be one that affirms, embraces, and includes, for that’s what love does. Surely there are times when love attempts to “correct,” but not with the aim to separate or divide, but to protect. Loving parents do not draw lines in the sand and then reject and evict children who cross them. As Christ followers, we are called to be “good parents,” not legal judges. The “what” of our belief must always wrestle with what love means in a given moment, and how it will govern our actions. I confess that I struggle with this, especially when Donald Trump is involved, or my anger over the warring actions of Israel, Hamas, or Vladimir Putin, but of late, I’m trying to “go first to love,” and think about how love might help me temper not only my OWN feelings, but must be part of any solution to ignorance, violence, or autocracy.

Think of something—or someone—that is really “bothering” you right now, even if only in mind. Try the “go first to love” method of pondering it/them. What might it look like to apply love to the situation? What of it or them can you “accept” in the name of love? What ground might you be willing to surrender, in order to “love” in this situation? Love is NOT the opposite of HATE—it is the potion or “antivenom” for it. When we look through the “eyes” of the love of Christ, one may be able to accept that a gay or lesbian individual is not “choosing” to be that way, intentionally purposing to “break God’s law,” as you see it. Love might help you understand that, for this individual, it is a question of being honest to self, one’s own feelings, and about living an “authentic” life. For them, it is all about love. For YOU, while not necessarily changing your thinking about LGBTQ persons, love has the power to help you reconcile a relationship—one that is not really about “doctrine” or “the law of God”—but interpersonal. “Going first to love” has helped me “feel” for Donald Trump and what might have afflicted him in such a way that he behaves toward others the way he does. Love doesn’t change my mind regarding my disagreements with him over national policy or the basic philosophies of life, but it DOES remind me that he, too, is a child of God, loved by God, and needs love to thrive, just like the rest of us. Love leads me to pray for his self-awareness, which seems sorely lacking, but also for my own, that is WAY too quickly derailed by negative, critical opinions of people like Mr. Trump.

What of WHY we believe? Here again, there are probably as many reasons as there are people! There are some motivators for faith that are less than “healthy,” though. Let’s look at a few:

Those who are AFRAID of God and God’s judgment; seek to “toe the line” to stay on God’s good side.

Those looking for a HANDOUT—happy to receive God’s pardon, especially if it is for free, but struggle to “stop sinning,” especially when forgiveness is so “easy” to get. “Handout” believers struggle with seeing themselves as part of the wider community of faith, as theirs may be a strictly individualized belief system.

Those who are hung up on being SURE about their faith, and whose lack thereof may lead them to “try” one religious “remedy” after another; may lead to heightened sense of religious conviction, even outsized judgment of OTHERS’ spirituality.

Those who largely GO THROUGH the MOTIONS—following the path taught them by parents, and/or the church; defenders of the “traditions” of the church; “going through the motions” becomes a kind of penitent, “appeasing” faith. 

My 36 years of pastoral ministry teaches me that, while all of these aberrant “faiths” are operative in the church, the great majority of persons desire to find and manifest a “genuine” faith in God. As a pastor, I did my best—still do—to help others discover such a genuine relationship with God. I wish I could feel that I succeeded in most of these cases, but again, MY faith must allow me to believe that God is the one who must do the “heavy lifting.” I continue to pray for all whom I was privileged to serve, and to believe that with God’s help, they will continue to develop and manifest what our denomination used to label, “open minds, open hearts, and open doors.” 

So, what would a “genuine” faith look like? We’ve already seen from the author of First John (and from Jesus!) that LOVE is the basis for it. “Basis” may be an inadequate term—it is the SUBSTANCE of it. The love of God as fully manifested in Jesus Christ IS what we “believe,” hence it is foundational. It is the “WHAT,” of our faith, indeed. The WHY of a genuine faith is not a “thing” as much as it is a result of accepting the foundational LOVE of Jesus Christ, and then acting on it in the way we live out our existence. Here is where the second “beckon” word from this weekend’s passage sings out—ABIDE.

The Greek word in verse six we translate as “abide” has as its root, meno, which means to remain, to stay, to lodge with, to wait for, to keep on, to continue to exist, to persist, to reside. To “abide in Christ” means to build a life WITH Jesus in such a way that we “go first to love,” and then define our actions and attitudes from there. “Abiding” is a lifestyle, not a method. It is arrived at in stages, from juvenile to maturity, and its primer is the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. It really doesn’t matter how we come to enjoin this journey of abiding in Christ, but it is a most healthy one when it starts with love—accepting who we are, and that we are worthy of God’s pardon and acceptance, not BECAUSE of who WE are, but because of who GOD is. From that “moment” (or heritage) that brings us to belief, we are nurtured by the church—the Body of Christ—as we take our first steps. We don’t do it out of fear, nor to “appease” God. It is meant to be a joyful, purposeful journey wherein we grow closer and closer to Christ, and in our understanding OF him and his mission to accept and love all the world. We become part of a larger and growing “abiding community” in Christ, whose presence through the Holy Spirit tethers us together with God and each other, like a climbing team. We are at our best as “abiders” when we fully rely on God AND each other. 

If this doesn’t sound like the church you know now, I’m not surprised. We struggle with this “abiding,” too often confusing human-extracted rules and doctrines from the much simpler “love” and “abide” teachings of the Bible. Love God, love each other, and love others until they discover God’s love for themselves. There is your biblical vision of the Body of Christ. I’m pretty sure this is the world God wants to build, a world we call the “Kingdom of God.” We’re called to assemble a “family reunion,” not win a war against “sin and evil.” Neither are we asked to defeat evil—that’s God’s job and is beyond our paygrade. We ARE called to forgive others and each other—Jesus told us that, remember? 

Mr. Wesley called this whole “abiding” thing, “going on to perfection,” with perfection being the fully realized Kingdom of God. Genuine faith is about loving and abiding. Period.

This kind of genuine faith helps our mental health, because while it emanates from God, it is stuff we can “do” as humans, and it builds on a positive “love” model, not the negatives of fear and appeasement. It doesn’t wait for Sundays to be active, but energizes our everyday routine by becoming a woven, integrated “part” of who we are. And its goal is loving relationships with God, ourself, and others. And it lives well alongside “doubt” because doubt doesn’t crumble our core process of love, acceptance, and life, which are the essence of God. We “live God,” we don’t have to “prove” God. Doubt is therefore disarmed, even though it survives in our thinking, reasoning self.

Want a slogan for this? How about the end of First Corinthians 13: “Faith, Hope, and Love ABIDE, but the greatest of these is LOVE. There’s your genuine faith! Amen.