Sydney
31 August 2003
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Three
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Find room for God
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Sr Renée Heraud, missionary - Vila’s diminutive media dynamo
Why
do we have faith in Jesus?
They
‘need our prayers’
‘Walk
arm in arm’ call to Vinnies
In
touch with God on the roof of the world
Why do we have faith in Jesus?
By Fr John Catoir
Why do we believe in Jesus Christ? There are two kinds of faith: natural faith (in maps, weather forecasts, medical diagnosis, wet paint signs, etc), and then there is supernatural faith.
We believe that maps are giving us accurate information even though we have never been to the places they show. In supernatural faith, we believe that the words of Jesus are true, even though we have never seen him or heard the sound of his voice. We make an act of will to accept the words of Jesus. God’s grace gives us the wisdom to say ‘yes’ to something mysterious, not because we understand it right away but because we need to understand more.
Faith gives us greater understanding of the mysteries before us.
The first step in supernatural faith is belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ. An element of mystery is always involved. We are given the facts behind a mystery, but we are not given the ‘how’.
Jesus is true God and true man; that is a fact. But how this can be possible remains hidden from our eyes.
Why do we accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives? His power and love have been demonstrated to be superhuman. His power to bring us to heaven, shown by his resurrection, is fascinating and irresistible. His love, shown by his willingness to die for us, is captivating. Where would we be without him?
The New Testament tells us Jesus claimed to be divine by asserting authority over the law and the Sabbath. He performed miracles to support those claims: giving sight to the blind, healing the sick, the lepers, the lame; bringing back to life three people; changing water into wine; calming the sea. His own resurrection is his crowning miracle.
There is also the testimony of the apostles, who went to their deaths preaching in his name. They maintained a consistent story in spite of torture and persecution. They gave their lives to tell us the truth about Jesus.
And just what is the truth about Jesus? He said: “Learn of me for I am meek and humble of heart.”
But was he always meek?
No. Sometimes he was fierce. To Peter he said: “Get behind me, Satan!” He drove the money-changers out of the temple with a vengeance.
Meeting Jesus is different for each of us. We pick and choose the Gospel parts we like and pass over what makes us feel uncomfortable. Jesus is like a doctor who says: “If you don’t do what I tell you, you will die.” He demands our obedience.
To quote the Catholic intellectual Frank Sheed: “He was never sentimental, never wasted words. He said what had to be said, which any reader new to the Gospels may take a while to get used to ... He, of all men, was not likely to be sentimental about sin. He knew what our sinful world would cost him on Calvary.”
Some people fear to come to Jesus the way they fear going to a doctor. They do not want to know their true condition. So they deny Jesus and trivialise his authority. But those who do believe, and who face both Jesus and themselves honestly, come to love him with all their hearts.
Fr John Catoir is a CNS columnist