existential faith - three ironic heroes of faith
DESCRIPTION
This was a session in Cafechurch Melbourne (www.cafechurch.org) where we talked about the sort of faith we want - a faith which underpins our lives, even when we don't get the things we prayed for so hard, things which God seems to approve of. The three heroes were Job, Jonah, and St Thomas - all people who had to walk a hard path, but who were fundamentally, existentially open to GodTRANSCRIPT
Existential Faith
The difference between trusting God for a particular outcome, and just trusting God as such.
Existential faith is a basic orientation of your entire life towards having faith in God as such, not for particular outcomes.
Ironic Heroes of Faith
When I think about faith, these three people occur to me as ironic heroes of faith.
Ironic?
(Ironic because contrary to expectation, contrary to what a straightforward hero of faith might look like. People who walked with all the unpleasant stuff - doubt, grief, incredulity, rebellion - but walked with God nonetheless)
Jonah
God tells him to go to Nineveh (in Iraq). He flees to Tarshish (in Spain), but, courtesy of a giant fish, ends up in Nineveh anyway
Job
Satan “tempts” God to overthrow Job’s happiness – to put Job to the test. He endures hardship, and ultimately sees God.
St Thomas the Apostle
Has to see the risen Christ for himself. Goes on to found the church in India.
A Question
Do any of these figures speak to you? If not, can you suggest one that does?
What Faith is Not
•Faith is not the belief that God is going to solve all our problems and give us a perfect, glossy life.•Nor is it the belief that our problems are illusory.
Faith Heroes Question
What characterises the life of your favourite faith hero?
Some Common Features
•Beards•An openness to God – not fixed in their position (Thomas went with the evidence, Jonah did eventually preach in Niniveh, Job hung in there)•A baseline sense of themselves as being connected to God – that their lives were meaningful
Suffering and Faith
•Faith means patience in suffering•Faith means putting my current situation in the broadest context. This is not the whole of the story.•Faith means that my current situation is meaningful•Faith means that God is with me in my suffering
Faith is Not an Idea
I can’t prove faith to you, I can’t give it to you. Faith is allowing God to work redemptively in the chaos in our lives. Faith is something you do. And faith is also, paradoxically something you receive. And finally, faith is something you develop, especially through patience and reflection.
Transformative
Finally, faith should be transformative. It should lift you out of your old ways of seeing and experiencing life into entirely new ways, in which you are capable of living fruitfully.
Suffering Can Lead to Transforming Faith
Some of us, in experiencing suffering, trauma, and loss, may find a safe and compassionate space in which to begin to accept what happened. In time we may come to terms with the te suffering, the trauma, and the loss, not minimizing what happened but allowing it to become part of a renegotiated, and, perhaps, more inclusive sense of self…. Suffering, trauma, and loss, are a two edged sword for us. At times they make adulthood much harder to realize, and at times they help usher it in.
Finding God Again, John J Shea
Final Question
What would a fruitful life look like? Suggest a few things that are, or would be, fruitful
To Read
Finding God Again, John J Shea