March 17, 2019
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
If people, years after you were no longer living, stumbled across letters you had written, really personal letters about your inner spiritual life, what might they discover? Tough question don’t you think? So tough it may be the biggest reason not to write down thoughts about our inner spiritual journeys. You see, our inner spiritual life is, for the most part, unseen by others and when parts of who we are can’t be seen by others, revealing them to the outside world truthfully can be a difficult task. Such a question is a tough one no matter what, but when asked to be brutally honest about how we would respond I believe the question becomes a lot tougher. We can all find ways to answer questions truthfully without telling the whole truth.
For many people the idea of always putting our best foot forward takes on great significance when dealing with their religious or spiritual life. Surely, we all know someone who wants to make sure everyone knows how good of a Christian they are all the time. Call me a skeptic, but I always have a lot of questions racing through my mind when I encounter such people. As I’ve told you before, my skepticism is especially high for those who feel compelled to inform me of that aspect of themselves without me ever asking. I wonder what I might find if I were to stumble upon their private innermost thoughts about their spiritual life. Or what about those who society holds up as saintly. When it comes to their spiritual life, are they really that saintly?
Now I’m certain if we were to do some research, we could find numerous examples of this very thing, but for today I want to talk about two instances. The first happened to someone, who for most of her life, was held up in saintly ways. Her life’s purpose and her life’s work more than justified the saintly label. She had dedicated herself to serving the poorest of the poor and she did it in honor of and out of love for Christ. In almost all of the pictures we have seen of her living out her purpose, Mother Teresa exudes both love and joy and shares them with those she is serving.
Her inner spiritual life, though, was something none of us saw while she was living, and if her wishes had been fulfilled, her writings about it would have never become public. A few years ago, though, those writings did become public, and they opened the door to that inner spiritual journey of this saintly woman and what we found was a life of profound loneliness. We found periods where “She felt God had abandoned her.” [1] All of this was revealed in The New York Times best-selling book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta, which I confess I have not read, but I do remember the public outcry and backlash, if you will, when Mother Teresa’s doubts, Mother Teresa’s inner struggles, Mother Teresa’s questions about God were made public. Somehow, it seems, this saintly woman became a little less saintly in the eyes of some people, as though having faith and having questions could not, should no co-exist. It appears to me, those who were upset by the revelations of this book never stopped to ask if her doubts and her questions ever stopped her from continuing to live out what she believed God’s purpose for her life was. If they had, then maybe they would’ve realized that nothing stopped her from living that out. Nothing stopped her from being faithful to that calling. In that way, Mother Teresa always remained faithful.
***************************
That second instance of discovering someone’s inner spiritual journey after they are gone is found in the life of Abram. For the most part, the relationship between Abram and God was as straightforward as relationships get. “God speaks; Abram listens. God promises; Abram believes. God commands; Abram obeys.”[2] Lets just consider Abram’s life for a minute. He left his country and his father’s house because God told him to Go and God said he would be blessed and would prosper. Abram just went. He didn’t ask any questions. He just went. And in Egypt, Abram prospered and by the time he left Egypt, he was rich in cattle, silver and gold.
Then God told Abram to “walk through the land and I will give it to you.” What does Abram do? Responds accordingly, of course. Again, no questions of God. And while there are a couple of other things we could discuss, you get the point. God speaks; Abram listens and responds accordingly. All without asking questions or expressing doubts.
Then comes our text for today and something different happens. This time when God says, “Abram, I am your shield, your reward will be great…” Abram’s response comes in the form of questions. “How can my reward be great God. I have no children.” I find it rather ironic that up to now, everything God had promises Abram, and Abram didn’t question, had come true. Yet something about this latest promise made Abram want to know more and that desire to know more made Abram ask questions. Now I must ask a question, does Abram’s asking God questions make Abram less faithful?
“So often when people face perplexing questions—when they feel the anxiety of doubt and uncertainty, when they struggle with frustration and disappointment—they think of it as a crisis of faith. We are tempted to think of faith only as unquestioning acceptance or silent submission, but as we follow Abram on his journey of faith, he clearly comes to the point where he challenges and questions God’s claims.”[3] I don’t know about for you, but for me, there is a clear beauty in his ability to challenge and question God. That beauty is the realization that there are times when challenging and asking God questions is necessary dialogue. And when it is necessary, those challenges and those question are vitally important to our faith.
Coming to that realization frees us up to enter into a deeper relationship God. A two-way relationship where dialogue is possible – maybe even preferable.
Abram’s belief never wavers which means Abram believes but still asks questions. “Abram asks how God is going to accomplish what God promises. Abram does not ask God questions that really only cover up his own sense of accomplishment. Abram does not whine and ask, “When am I going to get what I want to be happy? When am I going to be satisfied? What do I have to do to feel content?”
Abram questions God’s activity. His questioning faith takes seriously God’s presence and power in his life and challenges us to be open to God’s work in our [own] lives. Abram questions God because he deeply believes God can do something about it. Such questions about God can also help us take the next steps of our journey of faith.”[4]
***************************
To those who knew Mother Teresa best, the fact that she had doubts – the fact that she had questions did not make her any less saintly. In fact, it may have just made her saintlier in their eyes. You see, her doubts and her questions never stopped her from her life’s purpose. Those doubts and those questions never once stopped her from dedicating herself to the poorest of the poor. Never stopped her from showing them her joy and her love.
That is what faith with questions looks like. Just like Abram, Mother Teresa had questions. And just like Abram, Mother Teresa continued answering God’s call. Could it be that their doubts and their questions actually strengthened their faith?
Having a questioning faith isn’t something we should shy away from. Having questions about how God will accomplish God’s promises isn’t something to fear. To not ask those questions is to not enter into dialogue with God and by all accounts, God would love to enter into dialogue with you.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
[1] Drake, Tim, http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/mother-teresas-untold-story-a-review-of-the-letters
[2] Debevoise, Daniel M., Feasting on the Word Commentary, Year C, Vol. 2., Gen. 15:1-12, 17-18
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
If people, years after you were no longer living, stumbled across letters you had written, really personal letters about your inner spiritual life, what might they discover? Tough question don’t you think? So tough it may be the biggest reason not to write down thoughts about our inner spiritual journeys. You see, our inner spiritual life is, for the most part, unseen by others and when parts of who we are can’t be seen by others, revealing them to the outside world truthfully can be a difficult task. Such a question is a tough one no matter what, but when asked to be brutally honest about how we would respond I believe the question becomes a lot tougher. We can all find ways to answer questions truthfully without telling the whole truth.
For many people the idea of always putting our best foot forward takes on great significance when dealing with their religious or spiritual life. Surely, we all know someone who wants to make sure everyone knows how good of a Christian they are all the time. Call me a skeptic, but I always have a lot of questions racing through my mind when I encounter such people. As I’ve told you before, my skepticism is especially high for those who feel compelled to inform me of that aspect of themselves without me ever asking. I wonder what I might find if I were to stumble upon their private innermost thoughts about their spiritual life. Or what about those who society holds up as saintly. When it comes to their spiritual life, are they really that saintly?
Now I’m certain if we were to do some research, we could find numerous examples of this very thing, but for today I want to talk about two instances. The first happened to someone, who for most of her life, was held up in saintly ways. Her life’s purpose and her life’s work more than justified the saintly label. She had dedicated herself to serving the poorest of the poor and she did it in honor of and out of love for Christ. In almost all of the pictures we have seen of her living out her purpose, Mother Teresa exudes both love and joy and shares them with those she is serving.
Her inner spiritual life, though, was something none of us saw while she was living, and if her wishes had been fulfilled, her writings about it would have never become public. A few years ago, though, those writings did become public, and they opened the door to that inner spiritual journey of this saintly woman and what we found was a life of profound loneliness. We found periods where “She felt God had abandoned her.” [1] All of this was revealed in The New York Times best-selling book Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta, which I confess I have not read, but I do remember the public outcry and backlash, if you will, when Mother Teresa’s doubts, Mother Teresa’s inner struggles, Mother Teresa’s questions about God were made public. Somehow, it seems, this saintly woman became a little less saintly in the eyes of some people, as though having faith and having questions could not, should no co-exist. It appears to me, those who were upset by the revelations of this book never stopped to ask if her doubts and her questions ever stopped her from continuing to live out what she believed God’s purpose for her life was. If they had, then maybe they would’ve realized that nothing stopped her from living that out. Nothing stopped her from being faithful to that calling. In that way, Mother Teresa always remained faithful.
***************************
That second instance of discovering someone’s inner spiritual journey after they are gone is found in the life of Abram. For the most part, the relationship between Abram and God was as straightforward as relationships get. “God speaks; Abram listens. God promises; Abram believes. God commands; Abram obeys.”[2] Lets just consider Abram’s life for a minute. He left his country and his father’s house because God told him to Go and God said he would be blessed and would prosper. Abram just went. He didn’t ask any questions. He just went. And in Egypt, Abram prospered and by the time he left Egypt, he was rich in cattle, silver and gold.
Then God told Abram to “walk through the land and I will give it to you.” What does Abram do? Responds accordingly, of course. Again, no questions of God. And while there are a couple of other things we could discuss, you get the point. God speaks; Abram listens and responds accordingly. All without asking questions or expressing doubts.
Then comes our text for today and something different happens. This time when God says, “Abram, I am your shield, your reward will be great…” Abram’s response comes in the form of questions. “How can my reward be great God. I have no children.” I find it rather ironic that up to now, everything God had promises Abram, and Abram didn’t question, had come true. Yet something about this latest promise made Abram want to know more and that desire to know more made Abram ask questions. Now I must ask a question, does Abram’s asking God questions make Abram less faithful?
“So often when people face perplexing questions—when they feel the anxiety of doubt and uncertainty, when they struggle with frustration and disappointment—they think of it as a crisis of faith. We are tempted to think of faith only as unquestioning acceptance or silent submission, but as we follow Abram on his journey of faith, he clearly comes to the point where he challenges and questions God’s claims.”[3] I don’t know about for you, but for me, there is a clear beauty in his ability to challenge and question God. That beauty is the realization that there are times when challenging and asking God questions is necessary dialogue. And when it is necessary, those challenges and those question are vitally important to our faith.
Coming to that realization frees us up to enter into a deeper relationship God. A two-way relationship where dialogue is possible – maybe even preferable.
Abram’s belief never wavers which means Abram believes but still asks questions. “Abram asks how God is going to accomplish what God promises. Abram does not ask God questions that really only cover up his own sense of accomplishment. Abram does not whine and ask, “When am I going to get what I want to be happy? When am I going to be satisfied? What do I have to do to feel content?”
Abram questions God’s activity. His questioning faith takes seriously God’s presence and power in his life and challenges us to be open to God’s work in our [own] lives. Abram questions God because he deeply believes God can do something about it. Such questions about God can also help us take the next steps of our journey of faith.”[4]
***************************
To those who knew Mother Teresa best, the fact that she had doubts – the fact that she had questions did not make her any less saintly. In fact, it may have just made her saintlier in their eyes. You see, her doubts and her questions never stopped her from her life’s purpose. Those doubts and those questions never once stopped her from dedicating herself to the poorest of the poor. Never stopped her from showing them her joy and her love.
That is what faith with questions looks like. Just like Abram, Mother Teresa had questions. And just like Abram, Mother Teresa continued answering God’s call. Could it be that their doubts and their questions actually strengthened their faith?
Having a questioning faith isn’t something we should shy away from. Having questions about how God will accomplish God’s promises isn’t something to fear. To not ask those questions is to not enter into dialogue with God and by all accounts, God would love to enter into dialogue with you.
[PRAYER]
Amen!
[1] Drake, Tim, http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/mother-teresas-untold-story-a-review-of-the-letters
[2] Debevoise, Daniel M., Feasting on the Word Commentary, Year C, Vol. 2., Gen. 15:1-12, 17-18
[3] Id.
[4] Id.