The Politics of True Faith
The Venerable Joan Clark
Matthew 21:23-32
Today, out there, all you hear about is politics, right? And we’ll hear about politics for the next month until the election.
Each candidate running for whatever office wants to convince you that you should believe in their position, support their causes, but most of all, believe that he or she can do the job better than anyone else. It’s your job to look at the evidence, the facts as you know them or have experienced them, look into their job history, examine their character, and come to a conclusion whether or not you want to believe not just in what that person says, but in whether that person is being authentic, is telling you the truth about what they really think, will really follow through with what they say.
Is that candidate saying what they think you want to hear? Or can you trust that the candidate is authentically trustworthy? Politics makes this kind of discernment very hard. Very hard indeed.
And it makes “belief” more complicated than just simply taking words at face value.
A good rule of thumb? Listen to words. But look at actions. Is there “fruit” as John Wesley would call it? Is there proof in the pudding? Is there follow through? Is there consistency? Of works and of character? Or is it just a politics of rhetoric?
What do we believe?
Well, belief itself is not so simple.
There are two types of belief here that we are talking about. On one hand, do you believe what he or she is telling you? Flat out. Do you believe what is coming out of the mouth of a given candidate is truth? Or true for you?
On the other hand, do you believe in that candidate? Or in other words, do you trust him or her –to do a good job, to follow through, to support what is promised, to fulfill the role if elected, to be the person he or she projected during the campaign.
Whether or not to believe is based in both head and heart, in facts, but also in trust. Only when you put your trust in someone can you say, you truly come on board, and invest yourself heart and soul in supporting and following that candidate.
Faith is like that too, especially within the church, especially when it’s about faith in Jesus.
True faith. We talk about it. We say we have it. We hold it as the basis as Christians for our lives and churches.
Belief, that is true faith, however, is tricky for Christians too.
You can believe that something happened, but you may be divided on how it happened, if you didn’t see it.
You can believe that someone is Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition . That person holds that position. But if you don’t believe in that Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition, that is, you don’t believe he or she has the know-how, power, or authority to behave as such or to do the kind of job that the job requires, you won’t respect him or her as your Prime Minister or Leader of the Opposition .
Likewise, you can believe that Jesus existed, that he lived and died, that he challenged the powers that be of his day, that he was a teacher and rabbi. But if you don’t know in your heart that Jesus is Messiah, Son of God, sitting at the right hand of God with the power and authority of God, you don’t truly believe in Jesus. And you certainly then won’t trust Him with your heart and soul or believe that He can change your life.
Every time you come to church you’ve joined me in a creed. That creed affirmed what you say, you believe. Part of that creed affirms that Jesus IS Son of God, who died and was resurrected for the salvation of the world. The question is, do you believe in the power and authority of Jesus in your heart? Have you seen the proof in your life?
Why do I even question this? Because faith, true faith, is very, very hard. And because, if every Christian who says they believe in Jesus actually believed in the power and authority of Jesus, we would have 1) bigger and more vital churches 2) more joy and 3) a zeal for evangelism!
Who wouldn’t want to be part of something that amazing and miraculous? Who wouldn’t be shouting for joy every day about Jesus’ phenomenal gift? Who wouldn’t want to share that news with every single person they care about?
Hmm.
The reality is that our churches are filled with agnostics, people who believe with their minds, but have neglected to believe in their hearts, to trust their lives and souls to Jesus’ person and authority.
In our scripture for today, Jesus calls his colleagues, the priests and elders, on this very issue. As the priests and elders get “political” and try to determine what the “right” or helpful answer might be, the one they think Jesus wants to hear, they undermine their own authority as those in the “know.” And they reveal the weakness of their faith.
Jesus knows, they do not believe in Him. In fact, they don’t know much what they believe, because they are spending their time trying to search for the convenient, political, advantageous answer –an answer that will keep their own authority intact and allow them to undermine Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus however turns the tables on them by throwing a question back at them that will test their truth faith: “Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?”
When they fumble for an answer, they reveal the wishy-washy state of their faith, and their right to Temple authority.
I told you Jesus was tricky!
And Jesus goes further. He tells them that it’s ok to get it wrong, to doubt, to hesitate, even to falter, if in the end, you put your trust in Him. But if your faith rides only on the words you recite, the creeds you repeat, the mere words you promise but don’t feel in your heart, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
God knows the inner contents of our hearts.
But this is good news for all of us in the church, who are still faltering somewhere between trust and agnosticism. God will always accept those who turn to Jesus, and bid to enter in.
God will always celebrate a new believer, even if that believer is a church goer for the last 40 years.
I want us all to take some time now today to renew our faith, to invite Jesus into our hearts to mould us and to change us, to say truly and mean it, “I believe.”
For to be a true disciple, a true apostle of Christ, at the very least, we need to believe.
Let’s end now with the Apostles creed.