· Isaiah 45:1-7
· Psalm 96:1-9 (7)
· 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10
· Matthew 22:15-22
Our readings today revolve around the theme of faithfulness to God, particularly the reading from Isaiah: "I am the Lord and there is no other; besides me there is no god."
This is very important because the Lord hates the unfaithful. One time I looked up "anger" in the concordance and made an Excel spreadsheet of the Lord's anger, and I found that 38% of the time, when God is angry, it's because his people are worshipping other gods. A further 25% of the time, he's angry at stumbling blocks, that is, those who lead the faithful astray; and 6% of God's anger is about false idols. So 69% of the time, almost seven times out of ten, if God is angry, it's because his people are being unfaithful.
This is very important to know. We know we are saved by faith; what this tells us is that the opposite of faith is not doubt, but unfaithfulness – worshipping other gods. Doubt is ok. God likes us to think for ourselves. Peter doubted; Thomas doubted; in fact all the disciples who knew Jesus in the flesh had a hard time understanding what was going on. God, as Father or as Jesus, is ok with that. God knows that the whole story is incredible. A guy walks around claiming to be the son of God; he cures lepers, casts out demons, withers fig trees, walks on water, raises the dead, and other miracles; then he dies very publicly and is pronounced dead, buried, and left in a tomb for three days; and then he's back again! Who believes such a thing? It's obviously crazy. God knows it's obviously crazy. That's why he did all the miracles, to convince the disciples that what's obviously crazy was nonetheless true. He doesn't hold doubt against them because he knows this is crazy and unbelievable. Jesus even said, "therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:31-32) Not believing the son-of-God story is forgivable because it's so weird and crazy. But rebelling against the spirit and the actions of God is a very bad idea.
So why do we, two millennia later, swallow the whole story without batting an eye? Because we're more faithful? No. Who can claim to be more faithful than Peter? Faith is not the same as credulity. We swallow this whole story because we're told, but we're equally ready to believe in bonsai kittens, that deodorant causes breast cancer, that the Prince of Nigeria wants to give us his fortune, that if we don't forward this chain letter to ten friends a disaster will happen to us, that global warming is true or that it isn't, and any promise that comes out of a politician's mouth. We believe a lot of patently absurd nonsense. We are gullible people. If we accept the story of Christ whereas those who saw with their own eyes and touched him with their own hands doubted, it's not because we are more faithful, but because we believe anything we're told.
So if accepting the story without question is not faith, then what is faith? How do we know that we have faith, and how do we know we have faith in the right God? Most of us just assume we do. We're here in a church, listening to a sermon, celebrating the Eucharist. Obviously we have faith in the right God.
But do we? Do we not honour and revere things that are not God? And do we not ascribe the powers and honours that are God's alone to other things? Is that not idolatry? Anyone who teaches children about Santa or the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy commits idolatry. You may think it's all in good fun, but have you asked God? Anyone who says "Satan made me do it" or "Satan is tripping me up" commits idolatry. Satan is only a creature of God. He does not control the earth or the people in it; only God does this. If you meet Satan he might make suggestions to you that sound persuasive, but Satan has none of the powers that belong to God only. Anyone who prays to saints, images or inanimate objects commits idolatry, though hopefully none of us Lutherans do this, since Martin Luther taught us to know better. Anyone who values his or her possessions above discipleship commits idolatry; likewise anyone who values social status, physical comfort, or the laws of man above discipleship.
These are obvious forms of idolatry; we know these things. But do we not turn even the name of Christ into an idol? Do we pray, asking for loot that we don't need, and then add "we ask this in Jesus' name"? Why? Because Christ said "whatever you ask in my name, it will be done for you"? He didn't mean we could ask for loot. He said this to the original disciples, giving them the power to do miracles in his name, for the glory of God and the salvation of his people. When we ask for loot in Jesus' name, we turn Jesus himself into an idol. In fact when we ask God for loot, we are worshipping the wrong God. Our God, the god of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who was born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead, does not hand out loot. Our God has made the earth and everything in it and he has made it perfectly; he does not give out more loot to those who aren't satisfied. We teach children to ask Santa for loot, which is idolatry; likewise when we ask God for loot, even though we say "God" or "Jesus" and not "Santa", we are still committing idolatry. In fact our reading in Isaiah continues: "woe to you who strive with your Maker, earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles?'" Don't tell God what to do; he will not obey you. If you are worshipping one who does as you tell him, you are committing idolatry.
Worshipping the right god is not a question of names. "God" just means a higher power, it doesn't specify which higher power we're talking about. If one says "Allah" and has 99 names for God, and another has no name for God and knows him as "the one who is", does that change God? If one worships on Friday, another on Saturday, another on Sunday, and one says "temple" or "mosque" or "synagogue" or "church", does that change God? And even if one says "he" and another says "she", does that change God? God is defined, defines himself in fact, not by his names, but by who he is: he is the one who is. That is to say, we do not know which God we worship by the name we call him (or her), but by what he is, and we know what he is by what he does.
What does God, our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, do? Does he give out loot when we ask enough times? Does he cure migraines? Does he send messages encoded in yeast infections? No. That is not the true God. What God does is save us, through grace, by faith. So again, how do we know we have the right faith? By works. We are not saved by works, but by the grace of God; however that grace manifests itself in our works. As Paul put it to the Romans: "You are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Romans 8:9-10). And also "All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God." (Romans 8:14).
If we have faith, we are saved by grace; and if we are saved by grace, the Holy Spirit lives within us; and the Holy Spirit is Christ. Therefore if we have faith, we are naturally Christ-like; and if we are not Christ-like, then the Holy Spirit is not in us, therefore we are not saved by grace, therefore we do not have faith. We do not have faith in the God of our salvation. If we flap our lips like Pharisees but our actions are not Christ-like, we are worshipping the wrong (scare quotes gesture) "god".
Of course we are not perfect. Christ does not expect us to be perfect; as he said, "occasions for stumbling are bound to come." We are only Christ-like. So how do we know if we are "Christ-like enough"?
We don't. None of us are the judges of another's faith. Only God is the judge of who has faith and who doesn't. If one calls him "Allah", another calls him "she", and a third calls him "Christ", he will judge all three according to his own standard. As Paul said to the Romans, "who are you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make them stand." (Romans 14:4) And beside, as the saying goes, "God himself does not propose to judge a man until his last day." So none of us can judge another's faith and know who is saved and who isn't. But whoever is Christ-like has grace, whatever words he uses in worship; so let us use few words and focus on being Christ-like, which is how we know we have grace.
Praise be to God, the compassionate, the merciful.
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