A Thought For The Week Of December 4, 2017

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) Faith is not an easy thing - especially not in a society that often seems to be fixated on needing proof of everything. If something can't be proven empirically, then many people won't believe it - whatever it is. That, of course, isn't something that's restricted to today. We have to remember an apostle like Thomas, who is the role model in some way for those who demand proof. "Unless I see ... unless I touch." That's why he was given the nickname "Doubting Thomas" - because he found it hard to believe on faith. But, ultimately, that's what Christianity rests on. There are all sorts of things that we can't prove" about what we believe. At this time of year the virgin birth leaps to mind. In the Thomas story, the resurrection is the point for doubt. Actually we can't even prove empirically that God is real or that Jesus actually lived. We can cite "evidence" - but most of that is either experiential (in the case of God) or from biased sources (in the case of Jesus.) So in a way being a Christian is being comfortable with uncertainty and doubt. Christian faith is exactly what the author of this verse spoke of - it's being confident in our hope and believing what we can't see. Of course, a big part of that is what we hope for. Do we hope to win the lottery? Well, that's not faith - it's wishful thinking. What we as Christians hope for is the establishment of God's Kingdom here on earth. What we hope for is the reign of Jesus' ministry of love and mercy and compassion and reconciliation. That's our hope. It seems a long way away, and perhaps every now and then we start to doubt that it will ever happen. Sometimes it just seems impossible. But this Season of Advent is about embracing mystery and believing that even what seems to be impossible can sometimes happen. Disciples of Jesus know that it can. We believe! That is our hope!