This
morning we conclude the 4-part series of messages Living In A Divided World.
Each time we come to a point in which the level of contentiousness and
division seems to have gone about as far as it can, the line is pushed out
further. And, to be honest, as I
have reflected on these messages this week, I have concluded that I don’t know
that I have had much to offer that has contributed in any meaningful way to how
we deal with the divisions in our world.
It seems, actually, to have been somewhat of an exercise in futility,
but then, I think a lot of what we do as God’s people probably seems like an
exercise in futility, because we don’t generally see the ways in which God is
working, nor do we often understand the ways in which God is working. But, in spite of what seems like long
odds and much futility, we believe and trust that God’s work does continue on. I do believe that, and I trust that.
For this final message I gave a lot of thought
not only to what I would say, but also a lot of thought to the subject matter,
because I told you at the beginning of this series that I would start from the
furthest point out and work my way backwards. The first message, then, began with the larger-scale question of division in our world, moving
from there to the divisions within churches and within the larger church, then
on to the divisions in families, and now, to where we stand as individuals in
this world of divisiveness. And in
that topic, where do we begin? Where in the world do we
start? After thinking about it for
quite a while, I chose the Scripture text that we will read in a few
moments. I chose this passage
because I have always found it to be very fascinating, especially the last
phrase of the passage – I do
believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
When
I think about the divides in our world, perhaps the greatest of those is the
divide between belief and unbelief.
It is large-scale – because it spans the world – but it is small-scale
as well, as the question do you believe
in God? cuts across every individual life. Do you believe in God? That’s the great question of life,
isn’t it? Because how one answers
that question has all manner of consequences, one of which is, how does that belief express itself in our
lives?
I’m
going to make what I think is a very safe assumption – as you are here, I
assume you believe in God. Seems a
safe enough assumption, doesn’t it?
But I’m going to make a second assumption as well, and it is this – your
belief, your faith, has probably changed over time. And, maybe your faith has wavered a bit at times. Maybe it has wavered a lot at
times. Maybe it has endured some
doubts and questions; perhaps a lot of them. Perhaps a tragedy in your life, a job loss, a serious
illness, or the loss of a close friend or loved one created a question or a
doubt that chipped away at the foundation of your faith to the point that
you’ve wondered if you can hold on to it.
If so, I have what I believe is some very good news for you this morning. Let’s read our Scripture text for
today, which tells the story of a father who had faith, and yet that faith
wavered as his son faced a very difficult situation. Follow along with me as I read Mark 9:14-24 –
14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around
them and the teachers of the law arguing with them.
15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder
and ran to greet him.
16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is
possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech.
18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the
mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out
the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay
with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw
the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at
the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered.
22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can
do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who
believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome
my unbelief!”
Isn’t that a fascinating passage? It is
especially fascinating because of the declaration of the father who brings his
son to Jesus to be healed. The
father, understandably, is desperate to find healing for his son. What parent would not be? This is a father willing to go anywhere
or do anything in order to find healing for his son. I wonder what their journey was like, as they found their
way to Jesus. How far did they
have to travel? What was on the
father’s mind as they traveled?
What was it like for him when they arrived to where the disciples were,
only to find that Jesus was not there, because he was up on the mountain with
Peter, James, and John? Jesus had
taken Peter, James, and John up on the mountain where he was transfigured
before them. Peter, overwhelmed
with the experience, suggested that they build some shelters and stay there for
a while. Who wouldn’t want to stay
there, enjoying a literal mountaintop experience? But just as quickly as that experience had come, it ended,
and Jesus was leading them down from the mountaintop and into the chaotic scene
below. It is a reminder that as
much as we love our mountaintop experiences, we do not get to stay there long,
nor should we stay there long.
There is far too much work to be done in the valleys below, because that
is where people live and where real life takes place. And after all they had been through, when Jesus does arrive
on the scene and asks what was going on, the father comes to Jesus and simply
asks if you can do anything, take pity on
us and help us. Personally, I
think that father is remarkably restrained at that point. If you’re a parent, have you ever
grieved over what your child has experienced? Have you lost sleep because of worry, been awake in the
middle of the night praying for their health and welfare? Have you ever felt your heart broken,
have you ever experienced the sense of helplessness, have you ever had that
moment where you were willing to say anything, to do anything, to go anywhere,
or to give anything to help your child?
If you have kids, of course you have. Or, you will.
The father is very polite, as he explains to Jesus what is happening
with his son and then simply asks, if you
can do anything, take pity on us and help us. Is it just me, or would you get down on your hands and knees
and beg on behalf of your child?
Forget politeness and social graces! Wouldn’t you say I’ll
do anything! I’ll give everything
I have! I’ll give everything my
neighbors have, if you’ll just help us! Even though he is restrained, it is easy to hear the sense
of desperation in this father’s voice, as well as a measure of hesitancy, as
though he is fearful to allow his hopes to rise too far. It would be easy, after so much
disappointment, to think, I dare not
believe that any good can come. I
cannot allow myself to believe that Jesus can heal my child. If ever there is anything that will put
a crack of doubt in the foundation of faith it is watching our children suffer,
and the helpless feeling that accompanies it.
To me,
this father is a template for all of us, as we too, at some point, can make
that declaration of I do believe; help me
overcome my unbelief. One of the lessons I have learned from this
passage is that belief and doubt not only can coexist, they often do coexist. There is a belief – a very erroneous belief, in my opinion –
that if faith entertains any level of questioning or doubt, it is not real
faith. Nothing, however, could be
further from the truth! Doubt, and
its attendant questions, often lives around the edges of our faith and life,
and it is that combination of doubt and questions that can push us to deeper
and more meaningful levels of faith.
Personally, I have found that so many of my questions and doubts weren’t
related so much to faith itself, but to the “package” of faith I was given – a
“package” of particular interpretations and doctrines and viewpoints and
opinions I was given and told that those interpretations, doctrines, and
viewpoints and opinions were essential to faith. Take any of those away, it was implied – or outright said –
and the entire package would come tumbling down. When I began to question or doubt some of that “package,” it
seemed that it might all come tumbling down, and I feared I might be losing
faith, when in reality I learned that I wasn’t losing faith as much as I was
learning the need for, and importance of, reformulating my faith into something
that has been much more healthy and durable. It is not wrong – it’s not even unusual – for faith and
doubt to exist in the same person.
It doesn’t need to be seen as a threat, especially when it just might be
a wonderful growth opportunity.
Here’s
an important reality – that doubt that may be nagging at you? Those questions that are tugging at
you? That might actually be the
process of your shedding a view that not only is being discarded; it might need
to be discarded. There are times
when some people mix elements into faith that ought not to be there, and they
ought to be discarded. Some people
want to mix in with faith the idea that some people ought not to be loved and
affirmed and accepted. Some people
mix in with faith the idea that some people ought to be subjugated and treated
less equally. Those kinds of
beliefs certainly ought to be discarded, and don’t feel badly about discarding
them!
I want
to tell you a story that illustrates that truth very well. I told this story early in my ministry
here, but many of you haven’t heard it, and it is worth repeating. It took place in the early 80s, when I
was in seminary. One of my
professors was well known for making provocative statements, statements that he
used to challenge us and challenge our thinking, trying to get us to think very
seriously about our faith, and those statements could really bother
people. One day in class he said
something particularly provocative and in the first row, on the end to my
right, was seated a student who leapt up out of his seat. He was so upset by what he heard that
he was in tears, and he shouted out to the professor why are you trying to destroy my faith? This was a big class – over 100 students – and in just a
moment that classroom became very still and quiet. The only sound was the sobs of this student, who stood at
his desk crying. We all sat there
wondering where this was headed, and wondered what the professor would say. He stood there for a few moments –
which seemed like a really long time – and then he began to slowly make his way
over to the student, who continued to stand there crying. When he got to the student he didn’t
say anything; he simply reached up and put his hand on his shoulder, and gently
pushed on his shoulder to have him sit back down. The professor kept his hand on the student’s shoulder and
sat down on the edge of his desk.
In a very gentle, pastoral voice, he looked at the student and said, son, I’m not trying to destroy your faith;
I’m trying to strengthen it. If
your faith cannot survive this classroom, it will never survive out there.
That
statement put a lot of things into perspective for all of us in the classroom
that day. Seminary was a time that
was difficult for me. It was
difficult for a lot of reasons. I
was always tired, because I was in class or working or studying so much that I
got very little sleep. I was
always hungry because I had very little money for food. And my faith was constantly challenged,
and I didn’t like that it was. At
times it was very painful. But you
know what? It was so good for
me. That time of my life
challenged me to take apart my faith and look at every little, tiny facet of
it, examine it, question it, and then put it back together, and sometimes I put
it back together in a very different fashion. That was a time of life that made me tougher and
stronger. My faith grew by leaps
and bounds and it grew much, much stronger.
I love our church for many reasons,
and one of those reasons is because our church does not tell you what
you must believe. Maybe you have
no questions. Fine. Great. Maybe you have a lot of questions, questions that really
worry you. We will help you with
those questions, but we aren’t going to condemn you for having questions or for
asking those questions. In fact,
maybe I should stop in the middle of my messages occasionally and ask if anyone
has any questions, except I’m afraid the questions I’ll get ask would be ones
such as, are you about finished? I know that not giving a packaged set
of answers is scary and hard for some people, and because that is how we
operate as a church I understand that our church will not be for everyone. But I also know that life can be very hard
and very difficult and when life gets very hard and very difficult we must have
something to hold on to that will carry us through not only those moments but
all the hard and all the difficult moments, and the only way to build a
foundation to get us through those moments is to build a strong and independent
faith, and that comes by asking questions, tough questions, and working to find
answers to those questions. And
then, we will find that we have a faith that will carry us through to the very
end, and when that end comes it will carry us through that end to a new
beginning in eternity.
I
believe we need something to hold onto in this life. I also believe we need something to hold onto as we pass
from this life into the next, which is why as much as I love my friends and my
family I believe something further is still needed to carry me through not only
the next life but will also bring about a transformation in this life and give
me something to hold onto in the darkest, most difficult moments of this life. I have looked down into the chasm of
unbelief, and I found it very much lacking. I have read many of the books from that point of view and I
have thought long and hard about what I believe, and I continually come to the
conclusion that faith is the foundation that I need for my life, and for the
next life as well. Yes, I continue
to have doubts and questions and there are times when I too say, I believe, help my unbelief, but I know
that is not an expression of weakness, but of strength. I do not have to have an answer for
every question because I know that ultimately, I have the answer that matters
most, and that is Jesus.
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