Believe
Believe
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:12-15
Henri Nouwen explains in his book A Spirituality of Living that, “The word listen in Latin is audire. If we listen with full attention in which we are totally geared to listen, it’s called ob-audire, and that’s where the word obedience comes from. Jesus is the obedient one. That means he is total ear, totally open to the love of God. And if we are closed, and to the degree that we are closed, we are surdus. That is the Latin word for deaf. The more ‘deaf’ we get, the more absurdus.”
The invitation before us today is to listen in such a way that our belief (pisteuo) leads to a radical reorientation of our lives (pisteuo). True belief is a “listening” that leads to a change of trajectory marked by a love for God and a love for others.
Confusing cognitive assent with belief is nothing new. Who better to speak to this than James, the half brother of Jesus. In spite of growing up with Jesus and his own lack of belief earlier in life (John 7:5), James articulates that true belief must lead to action:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead… You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
- James 1:22; 2:17; 2:19
James doesn’t mince words. A faith that lacks action isn’t just absurd, it’s dead.
In the Sermon on the Mount (which James regularly quotes), Jesus explains that it’s what we love most that masters us, and what we love or treasure will ultimately command our obedience. This is why Jesus explains in John 14:15, “if you love me, you will obey my commands”. What does the way I use my time and resources say about what I believe and love most? What is it that I am “totally geared to listen” to?
Fr Pedro Arrive, SJ, shares with us, “Nothing is more practical than finding God, than falling in Love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.”
May we listen in such a way that our belief leads to a completely integrated life where our actions are consistent with the values and truths we profess.
Reflection:
Find a quiet place where you will be undisturbed. After quieting your heart and mind for a few minutes, consider:
What does the way I use my time and resources say about what I believe and love most?
As we seek to embody our faith there are inevitably areas where we struggle to live out what we know to be true, share with God what makes this so difficult…
How might God be inviting you to live a more integrated life in these areas? Is there a step you feel ready to take?
What Can I Believe?
O God, I am so fragile: my dreams get broken, my relationships get broken, my heart gets broken, my body gets broken.
What can I believe, except that you will not despise a broken heart, that old and broken people shall yet dream dreams, and that the lame shall leap for joy, the blind see, the deaf hear.
What can I believe, except what Jesus taught, that only what is first broken, like bread,
can be shared; that only what is broken is open to your entry, that old wineskins must be ripped open and replaced if the wine of new life is to expand.
So, I believe, Lord; help my unbelief that I may have courage to keep trying when I am tired, and to keep wanting passionately when I am found wanting.
-Ted Loder
