Optional Memorial of Saint Paul of the Cross, Priest

St Paul of the Cross
Founder of Passionists 

  Lectionary: 473

Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.

With this sentence from his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul challenges our usual ways of hearing, thinking, and believing. First, he  recalls Abraham's trust in God; and then his belief that God is able to do what he promised to do. 

Many of us remember President Reagan's mantra as he dealt with the Russian Gorbachev, "Trust, but verify." He had more confidence in the Russian premier of his day than most world leaders have in Putin. But, whether he actually trusted him or not, he wanted to hear what the Russian might say, and then check it out with the resources of American intelligence. Do our agencies -- the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) -- verify what the Russians are saying? 

Given the universal experience of misunderstandings, lies, and betrayals, few adults are eager to trust anyone. We might not have a reason to doubt their words; and we often suppose we've been told the truth because there's no apparent reason for someone telling us a lie. But in religious matters like the existence and authority of God, we're more skeptical. Is this church, this minister, preacher, or stranger on the bus speaking of a credible God? Or are they scamming me? Perhaps they're trying to sell me something, or take advantage of my gullibility. 

And then, given that I believe in the existence of God, I can still wonder about the Goodness of God and his Authority. Is the Father who directed Jesus toward Jerusalem and Calvary trustworthy? Is he able to call him from the grave and bestow upon him the Name above every name? And if he was so good to Jesus, would he treat someone as unworthy as me with the same kindness?

I have seen children who want to swim but cannot get in the water. Every other child runs and jumps right in and shouts for joy as they do so, and this poor fellow stands helplessly on the deck. I unhelpfully pushed a young man into the pool once. He fell in and got wet, but that did not unlock his reluctance to jump in. 

Trust involves me as well as the other person. It's an ability and a decision. Can I trust? Am I willing to do so? How much do I want to? What will it cost me? 

And finally, as we ponder trust in God, we might ask, "Is the Father of Jesus the same who created the Universe? And why would he bother with the comings and goings of this poor, bare, forked animal on Planet Earth? Remember that the Greek philosophers believed that matter has always been; and God, or the gods, had only shaped preexistent matter. But Christians insist that we worship the one God who created ex nihilo, while some atheists say, "Even one is too many." 

This matter of trust is complicated, and the longer I think about it the more complicated it gets! In the end I have to accept the solution offered by Alcoholics Anonymous, KEEP IT SIMPLE. Just do it. Believe and be saved! Because if there is no God, then your life doesn't count anyway, and nothing was lost by your willingness to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.