Faith Is a Manifestation of Persuasion

10 Pentecost Cycle B, Proper 13 August 1, 2021

Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15 Psalm 78:23-29

Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35

Lectionary Link

Accord to Gospel of John's words of Jesus, what is the work of God for human beings?  "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one whom God sent."

This expression attributed to Jesus, puts in question the debate about salvation by works or salvation by grace which was so important to Martin Luther and the Reformation.

The main work is to have faith in Christ.  Can we see how this unites faith and work into one and the same.

Since so many people are leaving religious communities today and become the largest group of people in surveys, the group called "nones," or those who profess no participation in churches, synagogues or mosques.  Many of these same person would say, "I am not religious, but I am spiritual."

I would like to sometime offer a class to the community which I would call "having faith, without religion."

Why would I do this?  Because I believe that everyone has faith.  Being spiritual can be based upon many definitions of what our inner lives mean, but I believe faith is a more obvious and unavoidable reality.  How so?

What is the New Testament Greek word for faith?  It is pistos and it has a verb form as well.  In English the word faith does not have verb form.  We have to say, I have faith or we use believe as the action word for faith.  

The Greek word "pistos" has a long history.  In Aristotle, the Greek word "pistos" is the goal of rhetoric.  For Aristotle, "pistos" meant persuasion.  Why do politicians give speeches?  To persuade.  Why do preachers preach and advertisers advertise? To persuade.  "pistos" which meant persuasion for Aristotle, came to mean in later Greek use after Alexander the Great, "faith or belief."

But can we see how faith and belief are intimately connected with persuasion?  Faith or belief is what we are persuaded about.

So, this is how I say that everyone has faith, because all of us live by persuasion about many various things.

We live by involuntary persuasion about many things, like needing water and air.  We live passively by the persuasions which we assume from our family, cultures and the contexts of upbringing.  Most Christians are in some sense, automatic Christians, because that was the only choice offered to them on the religious menu.

Persuasion can also be negative, like mob or peer pressure which results in us doing thing simply because everyone is "doing it."

If everyone has faith; if everyone lives persuaded lives about many things, then what is the big question?

The big question is finding the best source of inspiration and insight to inform and motivate our persuasion toward what is most important and best for one's holistic health or salvation, but also for the best outcome for our communities in living lives of love and justice.

As Christian, we seek to anchor how we are persuaded on the exemplary life of Jesus of Nazareth.  So this was the teaching of the church.  This is work of God, to believe, to have faith in, to be persuaded about the surpassing greatness of the one whom God as sent.

God created us in the divine image; we have lost ability to live out in the best way from the divine image.  This means we are vulnerable to be persuaded about many things which are not the highest expressions of human living, some are downright evil or addicting, and others are merely benign and neutral.

If we are by nature, persuaded beings, then we need to have a higher informing source to regulate all of the areas of persuasion in our lives.  This is what the Gospel of John and the early Christ-based communities taught about Jesus.  The Jesus of specific history and the Eternal Word of all time, and the Risen Christ of our history is the source of inspiration to regulate all of the persuasion in our lives, so that we balance our life energy to express holistic personal health and the enlightened community health of loving our neighbors as ourself.

So, everyone has faith because everyone lives lives of various persuasions.  It is our Christian calling to promote the work of God, that is, the work of being persuaded about the Eternal Word of God and the Risen Christ as the model to show each person how to best live out the divine image upon our lives.

We are people of faith, we are persuaded by Christ as our model for how we should love God and our neighbor.  Let our life work be about informing our persuasion with the highest insight for living well.  Amen.