What is our work to do?
If you pray hard enough and in the right way, life will be better. There is a certain theology circulating, that claims this sort of salvation. We Episcopalians, often feel superior to that kind of church teaching, that kind of Bible interpretation. Eventually, this way of seeing the Christian life falls short. I imagine that is why many of us are here. Here because we have experienced some of the other side of life. Experienced our hearts broken to the need for justice, the need for compassion, the need for mercy. We are the disciples asking Jesus to help us increase our faith. Asking to help us understand the world and our place in it.
I know you won’t be surprised if I ask, can we pray about this together? I like prayer as a path to increase my faith. Because I may after or during prayer hear God say, ‘you have the faith beloved.’
We have the faith. Do not believe the lies of the those who seek to destroy for the sake of power. Those lies are attractive and shiny, but they are ultimately just that, lies.
[I realize that once I started down this line of reasoning, I would have to face the nature of evil in the world and here I am.] Yet when I reach outside my life, outside my anxiety, outside my lack of faith, when I reach instead toward others my faith is increased. I don’t think this is just some cruel cosmic joke. I do think it is how we get beyond the ways we try to protect ourselves in an often-unconnected world.
Increase my faith … this request Is this right up there with ‘give me a sign’ - make this life of loving and living like Jesus easy. The prophet Habakkuk way back in the 6th century BCE wanted the same thing, the disciples wanted the same thing, we still want those things – we want wrongs righted, we want justice.
Patience is a virtue, so we were taught, and so we pray.
Alison Schultz+
Priest in Charge
