The
hymn writer Henry Alford took the phrase from St. Paul's second letter the the
Corinthians—“We walk by faith and not by sight”—and tied it to the experience
of St. Thomas and of all Christians since Jesus returned to the Godhead. We know the story of Thomas refusing to
believe that Jesus had risen until he touched Jesus' wounds. Jesus satisfies Thomas's request, then
adds, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.
(Hymnal 1982 - # 209)
We walk by faith, and not by
sight;
no gracious words we hear from him
who spoke as none e'er spoke;
but we believe him near.
We may not touch his hands and side,
nor follow where he trod;
but in his promise we rejoice;
and cry, "My Lord and God!"
Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;
and may our faith abound,
to call on you when you are near,
and seek where you are found:
that, when our life of faith is done,
in realms of clearer light
we may behold you as you are,
with full and endless sight.
no gracious words we hear from him
who spoke as none e'er spoke;
but we believe him near.
We may not touch his hands and side,
nor follow where he trod;
but in his promise we rejoice;
and cry, "My Lord and God!"
Help then, O Lord, our unbelief;
and may our faith abound,
to call on you when you are near,
and seek where you are found:
that, when our life of faith is done,
in realms of clearer light
we may behold you as you are,
with full and endless sight.
Alford,
as St. Paul did, contrasts the uncertainty—our not knowing for sure—with our
expectation that in our life after death we will see Jesus clearly. Then there will be no need for faith as
we understand it during our earthly life.
In fact, our sight—our comprehension of Jesus—will be complete,
wonderful, without end.
Paul
adds other, sombre notes in his contrast of faith and sight as well. Our earthly life, during which we must
walk by faith, feels like a burden.
“Being at home in the body and away from the Lord,” would not be our
choice—yet it is not really a choice.
We are by birth at home on the earth, thus our aim should be to please
the Lord for we all will face judgment.
In this passage Paul speaks about life as a preparation: walk by faith and aim to please God in
order to be prepared for God's judgment in our life after death.
Both
the psalm (portions of Psalm 92) and the gospel reading address our earthly life from a quite
different point of view than Paul's.
I would call it: walking by sight, enlightened by faith. Both the psalm
and the gospel use images from our earthly experiences that if viewed in the
light of faith help us to know God right now—to understand God's reign as
already present. Now is not
primarily preparation for the future after our life is over. Now is the moment of God's revelation
through things we can see, touch, and experience.
Yes,
there is mystery around how God's revelation happens—but we clearly can see the
result.
In Psalm 92 there are flourishing
palm trees and cedars of Lebanon.
These images show us how we, if righteous, will flourish, nurtured by
God: “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord * shall flourish in the
courts of our God. They shall
still bear fruit in old age, * they shall be green and succulent.” Righteousness leads to a positive
earthly outcome—fruitfulness!
Our
gospel reading from Mark addresses the revelation of God's kingdom here and
now. Using parables Jesus offered
images of growth. In the first one
in our mind's eye we notice seed being scattered, then germinating and growing
until it is ready for harvest. How
this happens is under God's invisible guidance, full of mystery. But we see it happen; we experience it. Then with our eyes enlightened by our
faith, we can trust this process to God—not only in nature, but also in
ourselves.
The richest image of all is the mustard seed's growth from the tiniest of all seeds to an improbably large shrub with lush branches where birds can constructed shaded nests—a peaceful and protected image of God's loving care for God's creatures. Jesus' revelation of God's reign through this mustard bush does not have to be taken by faith; it can be seen.
Celtic
Christians saw God as revealing God's self through “a wee book”—scripture
and “a big book”—the natural
world. Both must be interpreted,
of course. And most assuredly, our
faith should enlighten our interpretation. To see God's creative power in the growth and fruitfulness
of the natural world has to be “walking by sight,”
So
where do you most comfortably come down?
On the side of walking by faith or the side of walking by sight? Truth be told, I believe a good answer
would be, “I come down on both sides.”
We must concern ourselves with how well our deeds reflect on the
faith we profess. We walk in
faith, because there are times when pain and doubt may nearly overwhelm our
Christian hope. Yet all around us
God whispers to us, sometimes shouts to us, about God 's reign through the
trees, the flowers, the clouds, the sea and so many other amazing natural
phenomena. To quote the psalmist:
“For you have made me glad by your acts, O Lord, and I shout for joy because of
the works of your hand.” The reign
of God has begun. O Lord, open our
eyes—fill our hearts—so we may experience—we may see—your gracious love and
your creative power—right here—right now!
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