the paradox of faith
how do we hold what is outside of us?
What I find most confounding about faith is that it is something within us and outside of us.
We have faith. We form faith. We are people of faith.
But our faith challenges us and bends us to act against our own will. That is, faith compels us to act against our self-interest even when the rest of our being fights for security, preservation, and comfort.
Because of our faith we love our enemies; we serve the poor; we give of our resources for the sake of the “other.”
I believe that experiencing this paradox reminds us our faith is real.
Because faith is from God, it will stretch us and challenge us to a standard of virtue, love, hospitality, and kindness than we would likely not hold for ourselves.
Because faith is from God, it will also call us out of ourselves and into the world. While our society is quick to privatize faith, there is no containing the sacred. Our faith calls us to a standard of civic character that is foolish to the world. It leads us to build, not destroy. To challenge while showing mercy. To prophesy from a position of grace.
And finally, because faith is from God, is never out of reach. God’s grace is sufficient and God’s mercy is ever present. What can be lost is never too far to be found.
Reading:
“How Netflix’s ‘Mo’ Evades the Usual Representation Traps,” Jay Caspian Kang (The New Yorker)
“A Reflection on Faith’s Power to Call Us to Our Better Angels, Support Bridge-Building, and Strengthen Civic Pluralism” Michael Wear (Office of Citizen)
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto, Trica Hersey (Little, Brown Spark, 2022)
Watching:
The Mole (Netfllix)
The King’s Jester - Hasan Minaj (Netflix)