Sunday, April 25, 2004

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.
(Revelation 14.12 NRSV)

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Do you believe in a God who loves you and has promised never to forsake you? Do you believe that however dark the clouds may be, behind those clouds, the sun still shines? Do you believe that beyond every cross, there is an empty tomb? If you do, you can weather the storm, however severe. If you do not, today is the day to appropriate that faith for yourself.

William Gibson wrote the book, MASS FOR THE DEAD. In it he tells how after his mother's death he yearned for the faith that had strengthened her during her remarkable life. It was also the faith that had upheld her during her courageous dying. So he took his mother's gold-rimmed glasses and faded and well-worn prayer book and sat in her favorite chair. He opened the prayer book because he wanted to hear what she had heard. He put on her glasses because he wanted to see what she had seen. He sat in her place of prayer and devotion because he wanted to feel what she had felt. He wanted to experience what had so deeply centered and empowered her. Nothing happened, though. It did not work.

That is not too surprising. He needed a faith of his own--not his mother's faith. As someone said long ago, "God has no grandchildren."

Do you have a faith that you can call your own? Do you have faith for the storms of life?

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Loving God, help me to have the faith of Jesus so the storms will be rebuked. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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