Sermon: "Tests of Faith"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon by Bishop vonRosenberg was delivered using the following notes.]

The three Bible readings today put squarely before us several matters of faith - and, more particularly, tests to our faith. As I reflected on these three passages, it occurred to me that the challenge of faith - and tests to that faith - really has not changed a great deal since biblical times.

Abraham, called "Abram" early in his life, is the Old Testament example par excellence of a man of faith. This morning's reading from Genesis recalls for us some reasons for this reputation. That is, the Lord called Abraham out of the country he knew, away from his family of origin, so that Abraham could develop in his reliance on God. Also, God promised Abraham that his own family would become a great nation, even though Abraham was seventy-five years old and childless at the time!

In response to the work of God in his life, Abraham did two things. First, he followed God's call. As the lesson today simply put it, "So Abram went, as the Lord had told him" (12:4). Secondly, Abraham believed the Lord's promises to him, no matter how outrageous they seemed. Therefore, for Abraham's following God's call and for his believing in what God promised, Abraham is a model of faithfulness.

Yet, even as we read of Abraham's faith, questions of faith in our own lives may become more precise. I suppose it would be impossible for me to guess how many times people have asked me, "How do I know what God wants me to do?" And almost as often, I have wondered the same thing in my own life.

We are presented with the example of this man Abraham, who left his homeland to found a new nation of descendants - at age seventy-five and with no children at the time. If he is the example of faith, I suspect that most of us in this room would judge ourselves wanting by contrast.

The example of Abraham is picked up again by St. Paul in his Letter to the Romans. Now, it is important to recognize that St. Paul gets carried away in his wordiness and enthusiasm from time to time. Sometimes he presents theological concepts that are nearly impossible to understand. This morning's lesson is one of his more obscure ones.

In this portion of the Letter to the Romans, St. Paul tries to make the distinction between faith and works. The Letter to James is the most famous treatise on this subject, but numerous other writings - in the Bible and outside it - deal with the same matter. In fact, while we always need to be open to the work of the God in our midst, I suspect that we will leave here this morning without finally solving this puzzling and troublesome dichotomy of faith and works.

You see, St. Paul himself was a former Pharisee - one of those excessively legalistic types, who held onto every jot and tiddle of the law. Further, he served as a kind of policeman, who made sure that others were equally obsessive about religious laws, no matter how minor. But, then St. Paul had his experience on the Road to Damascus, when he was blinded and knocked to the ground as he encountered the risen Christ. Afterwards - Paul being Paul - he became as insistent about the primacy of faith as he previously had been about the authority of law and works in response to the law.

For any human being - and, I suspect, especially for people in our country - this dichotomy of faith and works presents us with a difficult test of faith. After all, we are accustomed to getting along just fine, thank you. Ours is a culture that glorifies the self-made man or woman and that values ambition, hard work and achievement above almost anything else. Where is the need for faith in all that?

My friends, we need to come to terms with this admittedly unsolvable dichotomy. You see, the problem ultimately becomes this. If I focus too strongly on works, then the logical eventual conclusion is that I do not need someone to save me - a Savior. And then I am in real trouble!

In the Gospel reading, we are presented the appealing - but somewhat comical - figure of Nicodemus. Now, Nicodemus was a leading man in the Jewish community. He had a lot to lose by associating with this rebel Jesus. Yet, Nicodemus was curious. He was a seeker, in terms of his faith. And so, we read, "He came to Jesus by night" (Jn 3:2) - so no one would see him and report this encounter.

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the work of God's Spirit. "The wind - or spirit - blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit" (3:8). Nicodemus responded in a way that indicates a more literal understanding of being born again than Jesus intended. At least at this point in their relationship, we are left wondering if Nicodemus really understood what Jesus was saying.

Thus, we come to the third test of faith this morning. And this one involves meaning. For instance, what does it really mean for us to make the faith affirmation that Jesus was born, lived, died and rose on our behalf? What does it mean to me today that Jesus gave us two commandments - to love God with heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves?

This test of faith is not made any easier by the disagreements among theologians and church leaders about practical Christian living. Indeed, a great and tragic consequence of church fights is the negative impact they can have on the faith and the lives of many, many people.

Therefore, our readings this morning seem to raise three very basic questions and tests of faith:

• First, in terms of calling, how do I join Abraham in knowing what God wants me to do?

• Secondly, in terms of faith and works, how do I listen better to St. Paul and grow to be more trusting of God?

• Finally, in terms of understanding, how do I follow the example of Nicodemus in seeking the meaning of the Gospel in my life?

My friends, what we have done this morning is only to raise some questions of faith. However, raising the questions is important on the journey of faith - and, indeed, on the journey of Lent. In raising the questions, may we also become more faithful in seeking their answers. And, in our seeking, may we come to rely more and more on God who is after all the content of our faith and the end of our search.

Copyright © 2005 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee