For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, "The just shall live by faith." ... Romans 1:17

Last week we celebrated Reformation Sunday, the birthday of the Protestant church. Begun by Martin Luther when he nailed the Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, commonly known as the 95 theses on October 31, 1517 -- his list of the errors he perceived in the Roman Catholic Church -- on the door of the Cathedral at Wittenberg. Luther did not plan to establish a new church, merely point out the errors in the doctrine of the church and return to the faith of the fathers. His desire was to "reform" the church, hence the designation, the Reformation. It was actually his detractors who took to calling the movement "Lutheranism." His call to the Church to return to the teachings of the Bible "out of love and concern for the truth, and with the object of eliciting it" resulted in the formation of new traditions within Christianity. What started as an academic debate quickly evolved into a religious war fueled by the political climate of the Holy Roman Empire and strong personalities on both sides. Unfortunately, the leaders of the church branded Martin a heretic and forced him into exile out of fear for his life.

This coming week, we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther, born 521 years ago on November 10, 1483, at Eisleben in Thuringian Saxony, Germany. Dr. Luther had much to say about faith, the most famous citation being, he just shall live by faith (alone).

This pronouncement is also found in Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. At the heart of the gospel, in Luther's estimation, was the doctrine of justification by faith -- the teaching that Christ's own righteousness is given to those who believe, and on that ground alone, they are accepted by God.

Most people experience a faith crisis at least once in their lifetime. We "lose faith" in ourselves, our family, our church, our country, and even in our God. Our friends forsake us, our family is not supportive, we do not feel a part of the goals and plans of the congregation, political leaders disappoint us, and even our own bodies betray us by becoming weak and faulty. God seems to be very far from us, and seems to be busy elsewhere, leaving us to cope by ourselves. It is then that we pray with the bereaved father in Mark 9:24, Lord, I believe, help me in my unbelief.

I think it was Blaise Pascal who first said (with regards to Catholicism), If you feel you have lost your faith, kneel down, pray and act as if you believe and belief will come by itself. Pascal also said, It is the heart which perceives God and not the reason. That is what faith is: God perceived by the heart, not by the reason.

Faith is confidence that God is in charge, no matter what may be happening around you. Faith is planting daffodil bulbs in the cold ground in October, and looking forward to seeing those blooms in the spring. Faith is opening the cellar door in the dark, and taking the step down, without seeing where your foot lands. Faith is walking with your eye on the future, overlooking the pain of the present. Faith is knowing that, whatever that future brings, God will walk with you.

Now that the elections are over, whichever side you were on, we must work together believing that this is still the greatest nation in the world. We are not the bad guys. It is the time to build bridges of hope, to rekindle the spark of love and commitment, and to reach out to those with whom we have disagreed in order to work for the good of all people. We must kneel and pray for ourselves, our leaders, our country, and our church that we may once again have faith in those things that make for peace, hope, and happiness. We must then go forth and live that faith, trusting that God IS in charge.

Faith of our fathers! Faith and prayer
Shall keep our country true to thee;
And through the truth that comes from God,
Our land shall then indeed be free.
 
Faith of our fathers! We will love
Both friend and foe in all our strife:
And preach thee, too, as love knows how,
By kindly deeds and virtuous life.
     Frederick William Faber, 1849

Contributed by Rosemary S.
Published Sunday November 7, 2004
Week 50 of Liturgical Year C