An Amazing Faith in God

St. Paul Preaching in Athens by Raphael

The word of God in the Book of Genesis focuses on a man, a woman and a snake. God fashioned a magnificent universe and created man and woman to enjoy it. They walked with God, had friendship with God and friendship with one another.

The story is symbolic. There's the tree of life. But another tree offers knowledge of good and evil, symbolizing “divine status.” Enter the snake. It set people against one another and against God. The man and woman wanted to be "godlike," Smore than the creatures they were. And so they ate the "forbidden fruit' and lost their friendship with God. and became estranged from one another.  And ever since, although we are intrinsically good, we have a tendency sometimes to choose evil. 

But God didn't leave us to our own devices. God became flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. Through his horrific death and glorious resurrection Jesus Christ reestablished our relationship with God and promised that goodness ultimately will triumph over evil.

Paul in the letter to the Corinthians reflects on his own life, and his passion to proclaim everywhere the good news, the Gospel: Jesus Christ is alive! God abides in us and we in God. God gifted Paul with an amazing faith that empowered him to overcome all kinds of obstacles. 

In the Gospel according to Mark, we have a conflict: between faith and a lack thereof. Some of Jesus's relatives think he's crazy. The scribes argue he works signs and wonders in the name of Satan. Jesus refutes this. And then Jesus simply concludes, who are my brothers and sisters? They who not only hear God's word but do it. 

Our Catholic faith is a gift from God that empowers us to have a right relationship with God. Faith invites us to enter into relationship with Jesus Christ, to follow him who is our way to eternal life, our truth who sets us free from falsehoods, our light who illuminates the darkness as we journey toward our heavenly dwelling place. Faith is about our relationship with God that we nurture, especially through prayer, liturgical as well as devotional.

Belief, on the other hand, is a statement about the essential truths of our faith that we proclaim in the fourth-century Nicene Creed we profess on Sundays.

We say: I believe in one God, almighty, maker of heaven and earth. And yes, we believe in one lord, Jesus Christ. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was crucified, died, was buried and rose again. He is our healer, our pledge of an indescribable life beyond this earthly life.

And yes, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the lord, the giver of life. The power of the Spirit is within us, enabling us to do good. And we believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic community. We acknowledge one baptism and look toward the resurrection and the life to come.

This Nicene Creed underscores the essential content of our faith; what we believe truly matters. May the gift of our faith whereby we relate to God, and may the content of that faith which we profess on Sundays, empower us, as the prophet Micah says, to always act fairly, to love tenderly and walk humbly with our God.