Back in the ‘90s,
I was a big fan of the TV programme “The X-Files”. Anyone remember it? Mulder
and Scully were FBI agents investigating the paranormal – Mulder was all for
it, Scully was a scientist meant to debunk him. Aliens, paranormal, you name
it.
One of the things
that set the scene, as it were, was a poster hanging behind Mulder’s desk. It
had a fuzzy picture, allegedly of a UFO, and the words “I want to believe” in
big block letters at the bottom. This was mentioned several times throughout
the series, and it became quite popular among fans – people had I WANT TO
BELIEVE shirts, posters, bumper stickers – you name it. Yes, truth be told, I
had such a poster on my dorm room wall.
In that context,
the verb “to believe” is being used in much the same way that we use it. When we
believe something, or when we believe IN something, we’re basically taking part
in a mental exercise. We’ve wrapped our brains around a concept. We’ve accepted
what someone has said to us. We get to a level of confidence that something is
true. We believe.
And in this
context, we believe in a number of things. And this belief system can change,
as our knowledge and understanding evolves. For example, my godson – having
lost his first tooth this week – now believes in the tooth fairy. His belief
may change in a few years’ time. Another example, in a conversation at the dog
park this week, someone said to me “your lab is so active! I can’t believe he’s
so old!” (He’s 9, but don’t tell him that – he still thinks he’s a puppy.)
It’s become
commonplace for us. Just about every day we’re using the word “belief” in
casual, simple ways. Often we’re overusing, and at times incorrectly. We
‘believe’ what the newspaper reports, sometimes without questioning. Some folks
‘believe’ everything that’s on the internet, often to embarrassment and error.
We ‘believe’ or ‘don’t believe’ just about anything someone says. It’s almost
become verbal punctuation. The weather – can you believe it?! The price of milk
– I can’t believe it’s gotten so high. Another cup of coffee? – I believe I
will!
So with this one
word being so casual, so incipit, so watered down, how then are we meant to
hear this timeless, classic, intensely meaningful statement of belief that we
have in the scriptures today?
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Ah. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, has the promise of eternal life.
How do we hear this then? I found inspiration in a
commentary written by pastor Angela Zimmann.[1]
She suggests that we’re meant to hear it the way people would have when the
evangelist John was writing it. You see, back in those days, ‘belief’ was not
something that was taken casually. It was not a day-to-day catch-all phrase. It
was something very deep, very intentional. It had it’s meaning deeply rooted in
relationship. It was, as scholars have described, “an
all-embracing relationship, an attitude of love and trust in God.”[2]
Belief is important then; what people believe and how they express that
belief are integral not just to who they are, but how they are going to
interact – with one another, and with God. And, as Zimmann points out, the
notion of belief is central to John’s entire gospel. She’s counted – John
mentions belief some 84 times in the English translation of his gospel. 84
times! Comapring that to the other three gospels, they mention belief 31 times.
Total, combined.
So for John, belief is a big deal. It’s a living reality. It’s not just
a mental exercise, it’s not just a word, it’s not just agreement with doctrine
or getting the right answers or following a script on the page. It’s about
relating, in the faith, in the community.
We know that community is important. We’ve all got stories of how
community has pulled together in times of need; we’ve all told stories of how
we’ve benefitted from being in community, of how we’ve helped someone else
because they are part of community. We’ve all heard me preach the last couple
of weeks on the importance of being in community. That’s the type of community
that Jesus was trying to build when he walked on this earth. That’s the type of
community God is wanting us to continue building and growing – in his name, in
his presence – every day of our lives.
And so – we try to do just that. We try to get others to join with us in
our faith journey. We try to get them to believe! The challenge, of course, is
that sometimes we get stuck in our heads. We get stuck in our ways, our
systems, our ‘right answers’ and right words. We try to force others to believe
with threats and fear… “For God
so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in
him may not perish but may have eternal life.” We focus on the threat of
perishing, of death, rather than on the freedom and promise of belief. We
become so caught up in the fear of the future that we miss out on the joy of
today – of witnessing the signs and wonders of a loving God, who is inviting us
into a trusting, loving, committed relationship.
So our invitation this week, I think, is to examine our
relationship with God and with the world. Our invitation this week is to spend
some time prayerfully considering what we believe – not as an exercise of the
mind, but of the heart. Not an assessment of right versus wrong, but an
evaluation of our bond and connection with Christ.
It is this connection that we celebrate when we declare
our faith. It is this relationship that we want to nurture and support. It is
this relationship that will keep us focused on the promise of eternal life, of
salvation, that we can ONLY receive by the grace of God and the love of Christ.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”
Well. Like the
poster said, but with true meaning attached: “I want to believe.”
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