"What is the Opposite of Faith?" - Psalm 46; Luke 9:28 - 36
A Sermon by Alex W. Evans, Pastor
Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA
Sunday, February 27, 2022
“What is the Opposite of Faith?”
Texts: Psalm 46; Luke 9:28-36
As you may have noticed, we have decided to continue this sermon series for the coming weeks - asking probing and often challenging questions about faith and life. Today’s question - “What is the Opposite of Faith?”
With the world events this week, namely Russia’s aggressive invasion of Ukraine, we may be leaning toward the opposite of faith. Lutheran pastor, Nadia Bolz-Weber does a weekly newsletter; she puts it bluntly: “I am pretty freaked out right now. Maybe you are too.”
It could be the Russian invasion and the world in peril, or it could be some other peril in your life. In perilous times, it is normal to wonder about our faith, our God, our center. We might gravitate toward . . . the opposite of faith.
In my early and naïve years of ministry, I was pretty sure the opposite of faith was . . . doubt. Faith/Doubt. Indeed, I have to confess that the first sermon I ever preached in a congregation on a Sunday morning was about the story of Abraham and Sarah - in Genesis 17 - when this famous couple, chosen by God, discover that Sarah is pregnant at 90 years old! Sarah “laughed” at the idea. Sarah doubted that her pregnancy could be true. It seemed to me that doubting was the opposite of faith. With God - we learn - everything is possible. So . . . I concluded in that dreadful sermon that the opposite of faith is doubt.
But through the years, I have come to appreciate that doubt has a great role to play in the life of faithfulness. As I have said before, I have in my study a nice little wooden plaque - a gift from one of you - that reminds me like this: “there is more faith in honest doubt than all the creeds ever written.”
I have certainly learned in my own life how doubts can lead to faith. I have learned on my own journey how struggling with faith can lead to deeper faith. So, friends, the opposite of faith is NOT doubt.
What is the opposite of faith?
We have an interesting story today. This story always appears in the lectionary on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday - today. It is the story of the Transfiguration - a story also found in Mark and Matthew. We read today from Luke 9:
28Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. 29And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. 30Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. 31They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 32Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. 33Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah” —not knowing what he said. 34While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. 35Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” 36When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.
This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
This is, to me, one of the more challenging stories that we find in the gospels. Many of us are most easily engaged by the keen sayings of Jesus, or the way he cares for the poor and sick, the widows and the lame. We love his teachings about how to live and love, and his parables - full of intrigue - which capture our minds and hearts. Even his miracles and healings grab our attention as Jesus embodies the beautiful, wholesome reign of God. So much of the Jesus story is so real, so engaging, so compelling.
But this story - the Transfiguration - is most unusual.
I think this is a story trying to teach us again about faith - what is faith and what is not faith? What is important and what is not important?
The story of the Transfiguration starts out with a mundane comment: “Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and went up on a mountain to pray.” Some of us have been to the region of Galilee, where Jesus lived and loved. The Sea of Galilee remains so prominent, surrounded by hills rolling countryside. About 6 miles east of Nazareth, where Jesus was born, and 11 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee, there is a mountain - called Mt Tabor. For centuries, people have concluded that the Transfiguration of Jesus occurred on Mt Tabor. It is a dome shaped and rises almost 2000 feet from sea level, looming very large in that region.
When it says “Jesus took with him” the disciples and “went up on a mountain to pray,” it really means they took a very strenuous hike up the biggest mountain in the area. Jesus and the disciples had been very busy working for the Kingdom, teaching and preaching, even feeding thousands of people, and then Jesus takes them on a strenuous hike. It is easy to understand their weariness. And Luke, of all the stories of the Transfiguration, is the only one who mentions that they go up the mountain “to pray.” Why can’t they pray where they are? Why climb a big mountain to pray? Prayer is hard enough without a difficult hike. Yet, Jesus took them up the biggest mountain in the region to pray.
Then, things get mystical. “While Jesus was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there were two men with him - Moses and Elijah, . . . they appeared in glory.”
Peter, fatigued and perplexed, responds. Let’s do something. “Let’s make three dwellings.”
So back to our question - what is faith, and what is the opposite of faith?
I think we have to commend Peter for many things. He is with Jesus, learning and becoming a disciple. He has climbed a big mountain to go pray with Jesus. He wants to do the right thing - so his intentions are stellar. But, let’s think on this: quick conclusions to mystical moments, . . . and busy activities that seek to impress . . . are often not what faith is about.
We are, often like Peter, anxious to figure things out. We all like to assume we know what is best, and we get busy doing something that we hope is faithful. “Don’t just sit there - do something!”
Peter was so taken with that transfiguring moment that he wanted to enshrine it - build something to mark the occasion. We know too well about that - build a monument, preserve the moment for posterity. Peter was so filled with the moment, he wanted to stop and admire it - build dwellings, preserve the situation. And that often gets us off track.
The great Soren Kierkegaard reminds us of this. Jesus asks people to follow him - not admire him. Jesus asks us to love God and love neighbor, not build a dwelling so we can enshrine the moment. It is not adherents to a teaching but followers in a life that Christ is looking for. This is what Kierkegaard says: What then, is the difference between an admirer and a follower? A follower is or strives to be what he admires. An admirer, however, keeps himself personally detached. He fails to see that what is admired involves a claim upon him, and thus he fails to be or strive to be what he admires. (See www.plough.com - readings/followers)
In this sense, the opposite of faith is admiring Christ - staying detached - instead of finding authentic and faithful ways to follow, to live and serve as a disciple, to think about and to do what Jesus would do.
Thoughtful pastor and teacher, Eugene Peterson, says that “Busyness is always the enemy of real faith. It is doing the easy thing instead of the hard thing - it is filling our time with our own actions instead of paying attention to God’s actions. It is taking charge, and forgetting that God is always in charge.” (See E. Peterson, Subversive Spirituality, p. 237)
Peter wanted to get busy - build some dwellings - take charge - instead of paying attention to God and God’s actions.
What is the opposite of faith? Building dwellings when we should be paying attention to the moment.
What is the opposite of faith? Racing into inappropriate activities, instead of learning to love God and listening to God.
What is the opposite of faith,? We also have to add some other things. Last Sunday, preacher and high school senior, Charlie Adams strongly reminded us that “apathy” is the opposite of faith. Jesus calls us to pursue righteousness and yet we remain indifferent, often apathetic to Jesus and his plans for our lives. Thank you, Charlie.
Anne Lamott, one of my favorite writers says that “certitude is the opposite of faith.” So many faithful people seem to feel so certain about so many things. But certitude never seems to get us very far. We need way more than certitude in these days - we need openness and kindness; we need grace and generosity; we need to listen and to love. Openness, kindness, grace, generosity all seem to me to align our lives with following Jesus, not just talking about Jesus. All those things seem more about discipleship, not certitude.
In her column this week, Diane Butler Bass, a church historian, writes about how the invasion of Ukraine is about uniting economic, political, and spiritual power. She says Putin wants Moscow to be the center of the Orthodox church - not Kyiv - which has been the center of orthodoxy. The mixing of faith and power seems to be the opposite of faith. Jesus spoke truth to power and was always against intertwining religion and power.
What is the opposite of faith? Maybe NO FAITH - no sense of belonging to One greater, no sense of a purpose beyond self, and self-gain, selfish attainment, no calling to make the world better, to bring wholeness and hope to the situations and people we encounter.
But this is why this story of the Transfiguration remains so important. Look at what unfolds: the mystery, this mystical - not to be missed moment - this radiance and glory - Jesus shining in light, and dressed in white. And then words - “This is my Son, my chosen! Listen to him.”
Now we are getting to the essence of faith - not the opposite of faith!
A key component of faith is listening! We listen to God. We listen to those who have gone before us, who shared the faith that shaped their lives.
We listen for God’s call upon us - do justice, love kindness, walk humbly. We listen for God’s expectations of us - love God and love your neighbor.
We listen for the promises of God - important promises intended to penetrate our hard hearts and frenetic lives, especially when the world is in peril, especially when the storms surround us: you are known and cared for in all moments; you are forgiven and strengthened to forgive others; you are blessed and held - even when overwhelmed by grief and loss and setback. Nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is what we listen to. Nothing is too much for God. Nothing is impossible for God.
So, shaped and held, we are to love and serve - to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world - we listen to this! It is NOT without doubt. It is NOT with certitude or dogma, but with humility. We live and move and have our being in God. This is faith. This is what gives us life - no matter what comes our way. Whether we live, whether we die, we belong to God. This is the essence of faith - and it empowers us to live faithfully - loving and serving.
The writer and psychologist Brene Brown has inspired many people in recent years. She uses the phrase, “whole-hearted living,” which she describes as a posture of resilience and compassion that begins with the conviction that “yes,” we are imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that does not change the truth that we can also be brave, worthy of love and belonging, and effective in serving. (see Rachel Held Evans, Wholehearted Faith, p. 42)
We certainly need resilience and compassion in these days. We need to be people of deep faith - who belong to God - and who live with courage and hope amidst all that is happening - in the world, and in our own lives.
The words of Ps. 46 seem so pertinent today. It is as if God says is speaking those same words from the Transfiguration. “Listen to him.” The Lord is our help and strength, a present help in times of trouble. The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, . . .the Lord of hosts in with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
There are lots of things that are opposite of faith. But we live by that faith! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Amen.
Prayer of Commitment: Holy God, you bless us so abundant with your presence, love, and care. Help us to listen, to love, to serve you with our lives for we seek to follow Jesus. Amen
Alex W. Evans, Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church, Richmond, VA preached this sermon during Sunday morning worship on February 27, 2022. This is a rough manuscript.