The Role of Practice and Experience in Growing a Faith

Luke 8:26-39

As we look at the life, faith and ministry of Jesus, it is noteworthy to place it within the cultural, religious and medical practices available in the time in which he lived. Medical knowledge and practice were more advanced than we might assume. For example, Jewish physicians had a good grasp of remedies available to help relieve various health issues. Honey, for example, was used to relieve sore throats, rosemary was used for stomach ailments, a solution of pounded maidenhair fern for tapeworm infection and a poultice of fish brine was given to relieve rheumatism.^. Cupping and blood-letting were also practised along with thermal waters, cauterisation, curetting of wounds, trepanning and caesarean deliveries.

From the Gospel accounts, Jesus had a remarkable ability to heal the sick and to aid people physically and spiritually in an age long before modern medicine. This certainly attracted crowds who sought his help and healing. As his popularity grew, Jesus soon encouraged his disciples to share in this healing ministry:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.¹

We see a lovely example of this in the healing of the Gerasene Demonic². Jesus brings relief and transformation to each step of this healing account. In the process, he reveals the love and power of God, especially to those who felt lost and trapped in a society which offered them little hope or help.

At the same time, Jesus condemned the religious elite for the way they abused the poor by not practising what they taught! Instead, they 'tied up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on the shoulders of the poor, refusing to lift even a finger to help and care for those who were struggling in poverty'. In contrast, Jesus laments on how he would love to gather the people of Israel to Himself for safety if only they were willing!³

In Luke's Gospel, however, there is a similar healing example. After Jesus had healed the man, he naturally wanted to become one of Jesus' followers. Jesus tells him instead to return home and share the good news of how much God has done for you. The man accepted Jesus' advice and “told everyone he met how much Jesus had done for him.”

I don't know about you, but I find this story incomplete. The man was struggling with three issues: first, his self-destructive behaviour; then his experience of isolation from normal society; and finally, his feeling of being trapped by his condition that he was powerless to change. In many ways, his actions were not unique. We also have our own issues, our own habits and beliefs, which may not be as destructive as the man's behaviour in this story; nevertheless, they may result in limiting or restricting us. I wonder how we deal with our own personal issues? How ready are we to let go of a habit, or a belief, or a personal issue, that is affecting our own growth towards wholeness?

But Doctor Luke has more to say about the way people deal with their personal issues as he introduces two more situations where people seek out Jesus to share their troubles with him. The first need was provided by the leader of the local synagogue. His twelve-year-old daughter was dying. In desperation, he begs Jesus help. However, on the way to visit the man's home, Jesus' journey is interrupted by a woman who had suffered from haemorrhages for twelve long years. The woman also reaches out to Jesus in the hope she might be healed. Jesus senses her need and stops. The result in both cases, the woman and the young daughter are healed. ⁵

While these stories may sound more poetic than historical, they do remind us that the grace and presence of God is never limited by our own faith struggles. This doesn't mean all our problems and illnesses will simply go away if we ask for God's intervention. Even St Paul discovered this when suffering from a limiting physical complaint. He had repeatedly pleaded to God to heal him,  but discovered his prayers were not answered the way he had hoped. In the end, he came to accept that God had not abandoned him and that his situation was not unique.⁶

Religious Faith is not magic. Faith in its essence, is about relationship – our relationship with God, with others, and with the world around us. When Jesus was inviting his would-be disciples to “Come, follow me” he was inviting them to enter into a living, transformative relationship with him. It was a two-way relationship. One that was built on trust, love, and personal commitment. And while the intellectual aspect of faith man provides a foundation, it is up to us to develop a daily practice that allows that faith relationship to truly grow.

Kia Mau te pai ki a koe I to haerenga!

May you find peace and good wiill on your journey!

Phil

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1. Matthew:36

2. Luke 8:26-39

3. Matthew 23:1-39

4. Matthew 8:23-27

5. Luke 8:40-42, 49-56

6. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

                                                     The Sounds of Silence

One of the pop songs that I remember from my youth was Simon and Garfunkel's Sound of Silence which hit the charts in the 1960s. It had a gentle, singable and easy-flowing melody and soothing rhythm. It soon became an overnight success, claiming a 'top ten hit' in many countries. As a young adolescent, and learning to play the guitar, I was also captivated by the song.

Another interesting feature of the song, which added to its popularity, was the lyrics. They offered a warning to the 'all-consuming consumerism' that was rapidly spreading in Western society. It tended to dominate and shape people's lives and desires. For that reason alone, it rapidly became the key driver of the local economy.

Consumerism was especially appealing to younger people, who were growing up in a rapidly changing world. However, despite all its attractions and its promise of fulfilment and joy, it more often left a trail of dissatisfaction and a perpetual yearning for 'something more'. For example, Simon and Garfunkel's song included these lyrics:

And the people bowed and prayed

to the neon god they made

and the sign flashed out its warning

in the words that it was forming.

And the sign said, “The words of the prophets

are written on the subway walls

and tenement halls

and whispered in the sounds of silence.”

However, the song became so popular that Simon and Garfunkel included it at nearly every concert until the group broke up in 1970.

What I find interesting, especially in the lyrics and popularity of this song, is the emphasis on the importance and place of silence in a rapidly changing world.

Richard Rohr has also made a similar observation in more recent years. For example, in the closing chapters of his book “A Spring Within Us”, he includes the following observation:

“Silence precedes, undergirds, and grounds everything else. Unless we learn to live there, go there, and abide in this different phenomenon, everything – words, events, relationships, identities – becomes rather superficial, without depth or context. We are left to search for meaning in a life of events and situations that need to contain ever greater stimulation, more excitement, and more color, in an attempt to add vital signs to our inherently bored and boring existence.”¹

Rohr goes on to suggest that our best moments in life can arise from these moments of interior silence because when we allow ourselves to pause and become still, we open the door to a contemplative way of knowing, and in doing so, we allow Christ to be born within us.

Such an observation stands in direct contrast to the prevailing philosophy of consumerism within local Western society, which tends to invite us in quite a different direction. However, while it may catch our attention, in the long run it will not, and can not, make us happy!

Instead, consumerism is often criticised and blamed for increasing people's anxiety, stress, poor moods, unhappiness in relationships, and various other psychological problems, including greater anxiety and depression ².

The road to happiness, however, lies in quite a different direction. It involves things like nurturing positive relationships, making mindful choices, having a good and productive job or hobby, cultivating a sense of purpose in one's life, and developing a sense of mastery over both the good and bad events that occur in one's life. And finally, cultivating a positive faith experience, which will both facilitate and nurture our awareness of the peace and love that God has for each one of us.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

the mainstream society and its values.

1    Rohr, R. A Spring Within Us: A Year of Daily Meditations (SPCK 2018) Page 395

2  Investopedia: Consumerism: Definition, Economic Impact, Pros & Cons

 

Why is faith so difficult?

The Reverend Dr. Teri McDowell Ott is a pastor, writer, and editor/ publisher of the Presbyterian Outlook in the USA. While reading her blog recently, I was reminded of the time when Jesus told his disciples that his time with them would soon come to an end. The disciples naturally struggled with the news, partly because they had come to rely on having Jesus with them. Then Jesus promises that while they won't see him physically, he will still be with them spiritually as he prepares a place for them so they can be reunited with him in the spiritual life that continues after their physical death. Then we have a lovely insight into the disciple Philip's faith when he announces that he wanted some tangible proof before he was going to accept what Jesus was saying! 

While this conversation is unfolding, the disciple Thomas's thoughts have been elsewhere, so he has missed what Jesus was promising, and he finally interrupts Jesus by saying he hasn't understood what Jesus has been saying. If Jesus is going to be dead and buried...Then how can we know the way?

Teri then questions whether we have ever found our faith difficult, which is a good question! For who hasen't gone through periods of time when we question our faith, our beliefs and our hopes? Faith is not always easy. Sometimes we too can have our questions. For example: “Why does faith require so much effort, patience, courage, and strength of will ?' Couldn’t Jesus have made our life of faith a little easier?

It is true, Christian faith is not always easy to live – and more significantly to understand – because faith it is not something that can be rationalized or explained in simple words. This is partly because faith is primarily built on a relationship and not primarily on things like divine revelation or even the teachings of Jesus.

Christian Faith is also grounded in ancient Hebrew/Jewish history and writings. It has passed through twenty centuries of formation and development. While this can become a good excuse to ignore Christianity, and many do. However, the Theologian, Paul Tillich, in his book the “Dynamics of Faith,” described faith as containing a dynamic quality.

”Faith, in the Christian context, is more than mere belief; it’s a dynamic and transformative force in the life of a believer. Faith, as described in the New Testament, particularly in its original Greek context, conveys trust, confidence, and reliance. Faith as ultimate concern is an act of the total personality. It happens in the center of the personal life and includes all its elements.” The human mind’s most centered act is faith. Everything revolves around faith. It is not simply a function or section of a man but his total being   If faith becomes static, if it fails to move us, open us, deepen us, better us, then it is no longer faith.  Instead it is an idol; it is simply another idol that we put up on the mantle to worship but with which we don’t actually do anything.

Couldn’t you make this a little easier, Jesus?  Thanks be to God the answer is “No.”²

Faith is not easy because Faith is not something static that you can pride yourself in.  Or having attended the course, read the book, and studied the Bible doesn't mean you now understand all there is to know about Faith. Faith is not static. Faith is a living dynamic because Faith opens the door to allow God’s presence and peace to journey with us and within us. It is always unfolding as we learn to live within its shadow and begin to recognise its presence hovering within our struggles and joys. And this doesn't apply only to those who follow the Christian Faith.

For example, I recently came across an article on The Difficulty of Sustaining Faith by a practising Buddhist. In response to a practitioner's complaint that, having faithfully tried to follow all the instructions he had been given, he had so far not experienced the enjoyment of peace and security promised in their practice. Instead, he had encountered 'great hardships' that had 'showered like rain upon him' and now he had had enough. He had reached the point of giving it all up because he felt he was wasting his time!

However, when he discussed his struggles with his teacher, his teacher suggested he should choose a place that he considers “special” and possibly even “sacred” and use it only for his meditation practice. If he did this faithfully and regularly, then he would begin to cherish that space as he started to grow and develop his faith and practice ³.

Kia Mau te pai ki a koe I to haerenga!

May you find peace and good will on your journey!

Phil

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1, Teri McDowell Ott – encouraging courage

2. Tillich, Paul. Dynamics of Faith. New York: Harper, 1958. Print.

3. The Words and Phrases of the Lotus Sutra.

How Long Would You Wait?

 How Long Would You Wait?

(John 5:1-5)

Thirty-eight years is a long time to sit and wait. Every day was exactly the same for the crippled man. Waiting. Watching. Hoping... and not much changes because sitting at the Pool of Beth-zatha had become a way of life for the man in John's gospel story. He had a physical disability and had sat by the pool for the last 38 years waiting to be healed. How he arrived at the Pool, we are not told. But once there, he was not going to leave because he was convinced his healing and his future lay in this pool of water. So the man sits on his mat, day after day, waiting, watching, wondering, and hoping that one day his life would change.

Its a strange story, because the pool of Beth-zatha (meaning house of mercy) had the reputation of being able to heal – but only the first person to enter the water when it started to bubble. Popular belief was that an angel was stirring the water, which added to the pool's mystery and attraction. But curiously, it was only the first person to enter the pool that was healed; everyone else missed out, and had to wait until the next time the water began to bubble. But because the man in our story was disabled, he was unable to move as fast as others who came seeking healing, so he missed out every time. The result was that he was still waiting to be healed for 38 long years... until one Sabbath day Jesus visited the pool. He saw the man, perceived his problem, and simply told him to “Stand up! Pick up your mat – and walk”... and the man discovered he could!

While this story rests within the medical context of it's day, there are still contemporary stories of people being healed by bathing in the sacred waters of other shrines, such as at Lourdes and Fatima.

However, the pool of Beth-zatha story can also apply to us as well, especially when we hold onto our own unfulfilled hopes and disappointments. We also may end up feeling neglected, left alone, “sitting on our 'mat' (so to speak), and we too may end up believing that other people's needs should come first … and that we have to wait for someone else to fulfil our hopes and longings.

What I found interesting in this story is that Jesus didn't help the man to get into the water. Instead, Jesus responds to the man where he is – sitting on the same mat, stuck in the same situation that has entrapped him for 38 long years. Jesus was not interested in the man's past struggles, disappointments and complaints. Instead, Jesus invites him to do something – to “Stand up, take up his mat and walk.” And when the man responded to Jesus' invitation, he discovered he could walk!

As I dug a little deeper into this story, I discovered that the number '38' occurs in several other places in the Bible. It referred primarily to the time the 'Children of Israel' spent wandering in the desert after they had escaped Egyptian slavery. The lesson they had to learn (as the crippled man also had to learn in this story) is that often the things that we long for and seek are not found outside our various situations or circumstances, but within them.

We all carry our own hopes... and our times of disappointments. We may also have had our own moments when it would be nice if Jesus would change our situation, but he doesn't. We also have to discover that meaning and purpose is not normally found outside the various situations or circumstances we have to face in the course of our daily life, but within them. And we, like the man in this story, are not meant to face these situations alone. Jesus also walks with us, encouraging us and inviting us into a new way of being, and seeing, and believing.

This doesn’t necessarily mean our life will suddenly become easier for us, but we will find new insight and strength in the knowledge that we do not face the situation alone.

Kia Mau te pai ki a koe I to haerenga!

May you find peace and good will on your journey!

Phil

Our Journey into Christ

Part 2

As I was writing this blog, one of the things I noted, was how quickly the days slip by – we are almost halfway through 2025! Outside, as the rain falls noisily, reminding us that autumn has well and truly arrived! I was reminded of the time I spent in the Franciscan Community of Little Portion in Arkansas USA. By May, the winter snow had gone, and the days were filled with warmth … and our daily work was spent mainly outdoors working in the Community's farm and gardens. It was good and 'honest' work that engaged us, hands-on, in the 'Lived Experience' of Community Life.

What also reminded me of that time was this week's Gospel reading (John 13:31-35) where Jesus told his disciples that the time would come when he would no longer be with them and they would become his physical 'hands and feet'. For example:

"I give you a new commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you"(John :34-35)

"You are(already) the light of the world-- so let your light shine so that others may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:14)

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls". (Matthew 11:28-30)

I imagine the disciples panicked a bit- they were so used to having Jesus physically with them. Yet, Jesus had been preparing them to carry on his work ... and perhaps for this reason alone, the Way that Jesus taught and lived was inclusive, liberating, life-giving and life-enriching because he understood that the essential core of being a follower of Jesus was an experiential relationship with the God who created us and still continues to love us even when we might not understand or believe hat such a thing was possible. 

In a sense, Jesus was inviting his disciples (and us) to live in the moment and to 'cast your cares upon the Lord for he cares for you' (1Peter 5:7); yet, I don't know about you, but it is so easy to lose sight of that fundamental truth. It is not always easy or straightforward to learn how to weave our spiritual life into our secular life, so all of life becomes Holy. Yet it was only as the disciples grew in their awareness, that God's image and likeness was already hidden within themselves, were they able to guide and help others to grow in that knowledge and love of the One who created them (and us) and whose Word still has the power to renew us, as the Franciscan Priest Richard Rohr has noted: 

“God’s presence becomes experiential and undeniable for a person. Most of us believe things because our churches tell us to believe them, so we say 'I believe' as we do in the creed. A mystic doesn't say 'I believe'. A mystic says (with conviction)'I know' because they have a knowledge that comes from first-hand experience.”

Elsewhere, Rohr has noted that: 

 "We cannot attain the presence of God because

 we are already totally in the presence of God. What is lacking is our awareness".

His simple method inspired another Carmelite, St Elizabeth, to make it her daily goal to always seek to be aware of God's presence with her in a very similar way to Br Lawrence. She discovered this simple practice transformed her mission in life, and it enabled her to help others find a way that would help to transform their life into the image and likeness God intended them to be. She is also remembered by the following prayer:

O my God, Trinity whom I adore...

may each minute bring me more deeply

into your mystery!

Grant my soul peace.

Make it your heaven, your beloved dwelling,

and the place of your rest.

Amen.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

Our Journey into Christ

When you regard me

Your eyes imprint your grace in me,

in this you love me again,

And thus my eyes merited

to also love what you see in me...

Let us go forth together to see ourselves in Your beauty.

St. John of the Cross.

I wonder how often you read the Gospel stories? You may, or may not be aware that they also have an interesting history. William P. Herzog II, was a former Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York. He wrote a rather challenging book titled,  “Parables as Subversive Speech”. I say challenging, because he first reminds us that in Jesus' day most the main form of communication would have been by word of mouth. We see evidence of this in the many stories that Jesus told to the crowds. They would have been easy to remember and would have been told and retold by the listeners, time and time again. The familiar Gospel stories we know were finally written down much later. For example: “Mark's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 60-67

“Matthew's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 65-85

“Luke's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 65-95. 

And “John's Gospel” was written somewhere between AD 75-100

A second interesting thing about the “Gospel Stories” is that being short and to the point, they were easy to remember. More importantly, they invited the listener to question what they were hearing or reading.
As you read this blog you also may come with your questions. They might be questions about what I have written, or you may have questions about your faith – or lack of faith – or about the world in which you live – or the way you live your life?

If you do ask these sorts of questions you are not alone. Jesus also asked a lot  of questions – for example:

1)  “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15 and Luke 9:20)

2)  “What do you want me to do for you?” (Matthew 20:32)

3)  “Do you love me?” (John 21:17)

4) “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

5) Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 8:26).

6) “Do you also want to leave me?” (John 6:27)

In fact, Jesus asked 307 questions in the Gospels! Some were easy to answer and others were more challenging! For example “Why do you call me Good?”(Luke 18:19).

Jesus also answered questions to drive home a point he was making (Luke 7:42) or to expose duplicity (Mark 12:14–15), or, simply to get people thinking.

I wonder what questions you carry? How will you find an answer? Will you be content with an answer?

During his life Jesus was physically present to his disciples and they could ask him all sorts of questions. After his death the disciples discovered that Jesus was still present, and was still able to share his peace, authority and power – but in a different way. We are reminded of this in a popular Taize Chant which you may have sung at some stage. It is based on the words of Jesus found in John's Gospel (Chapter 14v27):

My Peace I leave You My Peace I Give You Trouble not your heart.

My Peace Leave You, My Peace I Give You, Be Not Afraid.

The Good News of the Gospels is that Jesus still promises to be with us 

and share his peace, authority and power with us... especially dur  moments of

 uncertainty and darkness. The Benedictine Monk, F  Saux,  whose writing

 has been influential in my life, once wrote:

“How can we escape the divine Presence when fills our whole life? The

 Presence is always shining on us as the sun is shining on the earth from on

 high in the sky.

The mystery of God in its fullness is both inside and outside us, within and

 without, like the air which surrounds us and penetrates into the tiniest

 hollows of our lungs...

The Christian is indeed the one 'who knows', the one whose eyes have been

 opened to the divine Splendour, in whose heart has shined,“the light of the

 knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”^.1

That is also our good news – and one we celebrate during our Easter Season.

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and good will on your journey.

Phil

Footnotes:

1. Reflections on Prayer - Fr Henri Le Saux OSB

See also "Who Wrote the Gospels, and How Do We Know... Zondervan

 Christ is Risen – He is Risen in deed!

The Russian Communist leader- Nikolai Bukharin once travelled from Moscow to Kiev to promote the logic of atheism. On one occasion after haranguing the crowd for an hour with argument for atheism and ridicule of Christianity he finally demanded “Are there any questions?” expecting none. However, a solitary man stood up and asked permission to speak. His request was granted and after he had mounted the platform and moved close to Bukharin, he slowly scanned the audience, then he shouted out the ancient Orthodox greeting:

“CHRIST IS RISEN!”

The vast assembly seemed to wake up from their stupor and their response came crashing like the sound of an avalanche:

“HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

For those who attend a traditional Church Service on Easter morning may hear the same traditional Easter greeting: “Christ is Risen!” Whether the congregation responds with the same affirmation “He is risen indeed!” will depend on the local custom. However, this familiar Easter exclamation also reminds us that during the busyness and daily demands of life, our life and faith may need to be woken up!

We find a similar theme in the Gospel account of the first Easter Day which records that the disciples experienced two very real human experiences – that of fear and doubt.

Doubt might have been a natural human response for the disciples even though Jesus had already told them that he would rise from the dead – but the disciples knew that people do not normally reappear after they have died so their fear when they saw the risen Christ entering the room would also have been totally understandable,^{(1) .}even though the disciples would have seen and participated in the new and radical way of Jesus' behaving and believing – and their fear for their own life and future would have been real.

Jesus also knew and understood this as well – as he understands our fears and struggles. We see evidence of Jesus' care and concern in his first word to his disciples. It was one single word “ Peace!” Yet we know that the “peace” Jesus was referring to was not the absence of trouble, because many of his followers would also be rounded up and die. Rather the peace Jesus was referring to was the “Peace of presence” – which is the eternal 'Shalom of God' that fills us and completes us. It is not something we cling on to – rather it is a sense of wholeness that we grow into, which reminds me of the book, “God's Hotel” that I read some time ago and written by Dr Victoria Sweet, the Senior Medical Physician in a San Francisco. Hospital.

In “God's Hotel” Dr Sweet writes about the time she took leave from her busy Hospital Medical practice to walk the pilgrimage known as “The Way of St James”. The journey began in Paris and finally led her to the cathedral Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. Because of her medical practice Victoria could only walk part of the pilgrimage each year – however, she discovered her pilgrimage continued to actively occur within her as she walked the corridors of the Hospital because ultimately, walking a pilgrimage was not simply something one did – it is something that affects who you become – as the disciples of Jesus discovered in the following poem by William Alexander Percy (1885-1 942),

They cast their nets in Galilee

just off the hills of brown;

such happy, simple fisher folk,

before the Lord came down.

Contented, peaceful fishermen,

before they ever knew

the peace of God that filled their hearts

brim full, and broke them too.

Young John who trimmed the/Zapping sail,

homeless in Patmos died,

Peter, who hauled the teeming net,

head-down was crucified.

The peace of God, it is no peace,

but strife closed in the sod,

Yet let us pray for but one thing --

the marvellous peace of God

The Vietnamese Thiền Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thich Nath Hahn, also suggested a similar 'marvellous joy, peace and serenity' that is still available to us in every breath we breathe and in every step we take:

Peace is all around us,

in the world and in nature and within us,

in our bodies and our spirits.

Once we learn to touch this peace

we will be healed and transformed. ’  ⁽²⁾

Kia mau te rongo me te pai ki a koe i to haerenga

May you find peace and goodwill on your journey.

Phil

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Footnotes:

1: Luke's Gospel 24:36-43

2. The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life