We
all have things in our lives that are important to us, and how we treat those
things demonstrates it. For our physical
things, we tend to carry them with us to keep them close; our identification,
some jewellery, etc. For our emotional
things, we have physical things that symbolise this importance; like photos of
loved ones, significant gifts – and again, we keep those things close. We tend
to keep these things in good repair, we keep them near us so we can enjoy the
constant reminder, we tend to show off these things to other people. We show the world what is important to us by
literally showing what we value to the world.
So
what about our faith? Where does God fit
into our priorities? If we are putting
God first, then shouldn’t it show to the world?
So how do we do just that? There
are many different ways that we are encouraged to celebrate God’s presence in
our lives. Ways that we are invited to
consider carrying God with us through our daily journeys, ever with us and on
display. For some, it’s wearing a cross necklace;
for others it is opening meetings in prayer.
Some people may carry their bible with them or put a framed scripture
passage on their desk. Others may not
have anything on immediately visible.
Whatever we do – and however we do it – there are always ways we can
improve – and today’s scriptures give us some ideas and precedent as to how we
can do just that.
First we have Solomon and the elders and
tribal heads, all gathered together with the ark of the covenant. An earthly box holding a sacred agreement
between the people and God. And we see
that the power of God cannot be contained within an earthly vessel; nor can it
be restricted to only one people. We see
that despite the physical presence of the ark, that Solomon declares that God
cannot be contained – on earth nor in heaven.
And the people are encouraged to share their faith, their expressions of
good news, their stories as far and wide as possible. And they are called upon to do this “so that
all the peoples of the earth may know [God’s] (sic) name and fear [God].” The people are encouraged to respect the ark
but to celebrate their faith, carrying it out beyond boundaries without fear.
The
psalm praises that God is not dwelling in just one human-chosen place. It is a celebration of the vastness and
greatness of God’s dwelling, open to all of creation, who have faith. Yet while God’s household is a place of
delight, it is also a place for the strong in faith. The psalmist hints that getting into God’s
house I not done by chance but instead by making earthly choices – as the soul
and flesh and heart long and faint for the house of the Lord, the psalmist will
make the appropriate choices in order to get there. And the world will see it, in the prayers, in
the longing, in the humility.
Paul
then gives great detail about the armour of God. Ironic, since Paul tended to
be someone who opposed military service, that he would use the analogy of
combat dress. Yet he adapted his message
in such a way that it would be best heard by the people; Paul is both using an
example that they can relate to and he is suggesting a new way to consider
their militant ways. The message itself
did not change – take the power of Christ with you wherever you go. Cover yourself in faith as you would with
clothing; let people know that you are following Christ by your thoughts and
words and deeds; let people know that you are following Christ by your prayers
and your message and your strength. He’s
telling the Ephesians that they are identified by their attire as soldiers;
they should be as easily and readily identifiable as Christians.
And
Jesus again reminds us of the beauty of the Eucharist. We are invited to share in the divine essence
of the bread and the wine; we are told that when we choose to live in Christ
that Christ will also live in us. This
is incredibly important – it reminds us that our expression of faith is not a
one-way journey, but a reciprocal experience.
When we choose to be with God, God also chooses to be with us. It’s just one way in which we know and
celebrate and delight in the truth that in faith, we are never alone. And through this Jesus shares, once again,
the promise of eternal life for those who believe. And I really believe that it is that delight,
that joy, that bliss of the journey with Christ that shows the world where our
priority lies. When we have a love for
the Lord within us, there’s no way we can keep it a secret.
So
we’re invited today to think about how we take God with us into our daily
lives. How we let God move through us no
matter where we go and what we do. How
we embrace the life-filled spirit that is dwelling within us.
With messages such as these,
is it any wonder that not everyone in Capernaum was able to receive this good
news? We have people every day who want to believe, but who struggle; people
who want to live in the joy of the Lord yet who are unable to carry that
delight with them. We have people today
who would say, as the disciples did, that “This teaching is difficult.”
Of
course it is. Because true faith was never
meant to be easy. True faith takes a
lifetime to build and grow and carry, because it is what we choose to build and
grow and carry with us through our lives, every day. And making the choice to grow in faith is not
a once-made decision, rather it’s a choice that we must make over and over
again. In this way our faith is like our
muscles – we must exercise it regularly if we are to keep it strong. And so we incorporate our faith into our
lives. It is difficult, but we know that
with our faith, all things are possible; God will help us and guide us and
surprise us.
Faith
is not easy – but the reward is great.
And the choice is always ours. So
I invite you to spend some time this week reflecting on your faith – how it has
grown in the past, how you want it to grow in the future. Reflect on what influences your faith, and imagine
ways to allow for new impacts upon it. I
invite us all to consider how we make our faith a priority in our lives, and
how we show that faith to the world. And
I invite us to continue to strengthen our faith; at every opportunity, so that
when meet Christ face to face we too will declare "Lord, to whom can we
go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that
you are the Holy One of God."
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