How do you articulate your faith?
When they were sent into exile, the people of Israel realized their failure to be faithful to God, and soon came to believe there was nothing they could do about it. The prophet Ezekiel is sent to be watchman for the house of Israel, to give voice to God’s word, to articulate a faith the people are having trouble articulating for themselves. Ezekiel must speak out; his actions must be other-focused, grounded in the love God has for him, that he might bring others to relationship with God. Psalm 95 calls us to be fully present to the Lord, who has graced our existence and blessed us with his love and care; we are to sing joyfully to God and bow down in worship, aware of the faith we articulate, conscious of the power of connection in relationship to God and to other through shared prayer.
Jesus focuses on this same kind of connection in Matthew’s Gospel, when he admonishes his disciples to do all they can to maintain connection, even to those who sin within the community: If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. Sin affects our relationship; it affects the love we share with one another. But love is our grounding point, and so it is our responsibility to do all we can to draw the sinner back, to articulate our faith so as to bring about the kingdom for all – a kingdom embodied in love by all, for all. Paul articulates that faith clearly to the Romans: owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. Love fulfills any and every law. We see the love of the prophet when he continues to bring God’s message to the people, even when they reject it; we see the love of the psalmist, who comes into God’s presence with thanksgiving; we see the love of Jesus manifest in community: for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. It is this faith that we must clearly articulate through words and actions grounded in love, a love that colors all we do in service of the community in which we worship.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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