Today’s Epistle for the daily prayer of the Church is taken from Paul’s Letter to the Hebrews. He talks about “faith”:
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’ (Heb. 11:1-12).
The central theme in today’s reading is “faith.” We use the word “faith” a lot. We refer to what we believe as “the faith.” Sometimes people have a “crisis of faith.” But what is faith? The Greek word used in this passage repeatedly is πίστις (pronounced “pistis”) which has the following meanings: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. The definition in the Letter to the Hebrews is a good one, a practical one: “faith is he assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In this definition, there is an aspect of faithfulness, one of the original meanings of the word πίστις. To be faithful even in those times when we are no longer sure of what is true or what we believe, when doubts creep in, even when we feel that we are in darkness, that is faith. That is what all of the characters mentioned in the passage did; they were faithful even when they were not sure of it themselves.
In 1946 and 1947, Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced a profound union with Christ. But soon after she began her work among the destitute and dying on the streets of Calcutta, she experienced a spiritual darkness that would remain with her until her death. In a way, it is difficult to know what is more to be marveled at: that Mother Teresa commanded a worldwide army of charity was a visionary contemplative at heart, or that she should have persisted in radiating invincible faith and love while suffering inwardly from the loss of spiritual consolation. In letters written during the 1950s and 1960s to her archbishop and her spiritual director, Mother Teresa disclosed feelings of doubt, loneliness, and abandonment. God seemed absent, heaven empty, and bitterest of all, her own suffering seemed to count for nothing, “. . . just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.” Nevertheless, she was faithful, always faithful to what she perceived her call to be, to love the poor as Christ did.
Are there times that you feel like that? If you do, you are in excellent company.
Let us pray: O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Bishop Harrison will be with us this Sunday for Confirmations! Come join in the celebration and remember that rather than doing our traditional breakfast, we will do a pot luck instead. Wear red!
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain’s. Through this he received approval as righteous, God himself giving approval to his gifts; he died, but through his faith he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken so that he did not experience death; and ‘he was not found, because God had taken him.’ For it was attested before he was taken away that ‘he had pleased God.’ And without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, warned by God about events as yet unseen, respected the warning and built an ark to save his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir to the righteousness that is in accordance with faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’ (Heb. 11:1-12).
The central theme in today’s reading is “faith.” We use the word “faith” a lot. We refer to what we believe as “the faith.” Sometimes people have a “crisis of faith.” But what is faith? The Greek word used in this passage repeatedly is πίστις (pronounced “pistis”) which has the following meanings: faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness. The definition in the Letter to the Hebrews is a good one, a practical one: “faith is he assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In this definition, there is an aspect of faithfulness, one of the original meanings of the word πίστις. To be faithful even in those times when we are no longer sure of what is true or what we believe, when doubts creep in, even when we feel that we are in darkness, that is faith. That is what all of the characters mentioned in the passage did; they were faithful even when they were not sure of it themselves.
In 1946 and 1947, Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced a profound union with Christ. But soon after she began her work among the destitute and dying on the streets of Calcutta, she experienced a spiritual darkness that would remain with her until her death. In a way, it is difficult to know what is more to be marveled at: that Mother Teresa commanded a worldwide army of charity was a visionary contemplative at heart, or that she should have persisted in radiating invincible faith and love while suffering inwardly from the loss of spiritual consolation. In letters written during the 1950s and 1960s to her archbishop and her spiritual director, Mother Teresa disclosed feelings of doubt, loneliness, and abandonment. God seemed absent, heaven empty, and bitterest of all, her own suffering seemed to count for nothing, “. . . just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.” Nevertheless, she was faithful, always faithful to what she perceived her call to be, to love the poor as Christ did.
Are there times that you feel like that? If you do, you are in excellent company.
Let us pray: O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Bishop Harrison will be with us this Sunday for Confirmations! Come join in the celebration and remember that rather than doing our traditional breakfast, we will do a pot luck instead. Wear red!
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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