Daily Office

Year One, Proper 8: Sunday: Faith as Trust

Today's Readings:

• Psalm 118
• 1 Samuel 10:1-16
• Romans 4:13-24
• Matt 21:23-32

Samuel annoints Saul and gives him signs of future encounters. Saul prophesies, but what he says is not recorded. Saul returns home but does not tell his father about being annointed. Paul's letter to the Romans describes the promise God made to Abraham coming through faith. Matthews Gospel tells the same story from Proper 5, Saturday, and also the parable of two sons, telling the chief priests that the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter heaven before them, because the sinners recognized John, whereas the chief priests did not.
The Faith of Abraham may have been more than simple blind obedience to a bullying God. Let's face it, waiting over a hundred years for a child, only to be told to sacrifice the boy, is not what we expect of an all loving God. But the word 'faith' has several meanings. As Marcus Borg pointed out in his book The Heart of Christianity, part of faith is trust. I've also been reading a few books on Zen Christianity (for lack of a better term) and with those books, I think I realize that what Abraham had was material detachment. My wife's favorite passage is Jesus' "consider the Lillies of the field" speech. Jesus taught us not to worry, but have trust in God that things will be all right. Abraham did. Recently we read James' progression from desire to death. One of the side effects of desire is worry that our desires will not be met. Last November, my wife had to have surgery that would affect our chances of having a child ourselves. I barely understood the procedure, but trusted the hospital and the surgeons, and I trusted my wife's strength. I had no worries about the surgery or the recovery period, and everything has been fine since. My wife's recovery was miraculously short and free of pain medication. I didn't so much want the surgery to go well and for my wife to recover. I just sort of knew that it would be so. I had trust in God and the systems at work. So, have trust that all will be well.

posted by Josh English @ 12:59 AM