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Having Faith

December 7, 2023

1Kings 21:17-29  |  Psalm 27:5-11  |  Luke 12:35-46

After reading and re-reading the passages and psalm a couple things came to mind. One of the things is that being a person of any faith comes with a price. That belief can be a heavy burden to carry especially if you are lucky or unlucky enough to move in different conversations or ethnic circles… or simply within your own faith sect. In simpler terms think of faith as a language, be it let’s say Spanish or English. Many people learn to speak it but it’s never the same. It changes at times dramatically as you cross neighborhoods and even worse…borders. Or maybe you could view faith like a dish at a restaurant. We can see, taste, and feel all the complexities it carries. Think of a popular dish that everyone knows and can cook. This dish will never be made the same way, even if you are a strict chemist. You can argue that you followed the recipe to the letter but deep down you knew you added a pinch more of this or that. We have accepted that everyone will have their own little twist or secret ingredient that makes it better than yours… Like cooking is rooted in its ingredients and looks relatively the same as everyone else’s your faith is rooted in your experiences and thus becomes an individualized part of a whole. 

It is all based on perception, when in reality it’s just the amount of butter and Sazón that makes mine tastier than yours. So I suppose having been granted the power of the spoken word to traverse the road of faith with its many detractors and make a difference can make you saintly. 

But now to the real hard part of the reading…. 

It seems that one of the traits that God passed onto us as he molded us in his image was anger.  So God, obviously  knowing the migraine headache we as a people all are, figured a way to provide as many warnings signs as possible to keep us on the righteous path. 

23 – Also concerning Jezebel the Lord said, “The dogs shall eat Jezebel within the bounds of Jezreel.” 24 Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat; and anyone of his who dies in the open country the birds of the air shall eat.’

27 – When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth over his bare flesh; he fasted, lay in the sackcloth, and went about dejectedly. 28 – Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 29 – Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster on his house.

This trait is easy to verify, just think of the last time you were driving and someone cut you off and what your response was. It is usually a series of choice words, hand gestures, a prolonged pressing of a horn that hopefully does not sound like a dog’s squeaky toy. Some chose some form of retaliation which only escalates things. Mine is that I usually shrug it off as I have the belief that I will not give anyone the right to stress me out. Or at most I would invoke my best Harry Potter’s Voldemort and curse them with my best curse spell…”May you get a case of explosive diarrhea and a sneezing fit at the same time”. As you can see there is my present anger and delayed punishment. Yet my passing anger does absolutely nothing and it matters even less. But the Lord sets a precedent for what it is to fall from grace. It is a visual reminder of what happens when we pick and choose when and how to be a person of faith. I believe this is why there are so many passages that tell us to be prepared, to have our house in order. These warnings require the faithful not just to organize and prepare the visible parts, but rather all parts of the house including that junk drawer in the back of the house that we hope no one sees. Yet even though we try our best to live that faithful life we have a nagging suspicion that we may be members of the house of Ahab. So we pray to hedge our bets. It is done in the form of a psalm. We figured it’s worth 2 points if we sing it. So, we humbly and vulnerably ask like a child would. We ask to be accepted, and protected as we enter his house. 

For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter; *
       he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling
       and set me high upon a rock.
8 – Even now he lifts up my head *
       above my enemies round about me.
9 – Therefore I will offer in his dwelling an oblation
       with sounds of great gladness; *

But even as we ask for safe passage for the Kingdom of Heaven to be granted the angry side of us pops up to keep others out…we still don’t get the love part of the original deal. Soon enough we are at a parable: 

43 – Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 44 – Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 45 – But if that slave says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming”, and if he begins to beat the other slaves, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and put him with the unfaithful.

Once again in the next reading you witness that wrath, the punishment because they veered off their duty to their master or their faith. But once you get past the angry and scary parts you understand the WHY of all this. It’s not “I am gonna get you, so keep your head down and keep on trudging through”.  It’s about learning, keeping the faith and being prepared so you can hold your head high as you enter his house rather than missing the entrance because you forgot your GPS.  One must learn what the faith requires from you aside from the Sunday get together. In keeping the faith one must understand what that means. You have to view faith as a journey where some are ahead, and some are behind, but the path is shaped by your experiences and the road you choose to follow. But the most important point is to be prepared for if we are of the house of Ahab we must change God’s mind. Be the slave that’s ready to greet his master, use delegation methods, schedule better (that way you don’t fall behind or are caught sleeping). All preparations afford you some extra time and so if there is an error you can easily correct it. Just think back to my driving. If you already know that everyone but you are horrible drivers plan ahead, figure the issues then set your mind and mood to deal with that task…who knows there may be a little less colorful language and a person who is enjoying the ride, and soon a tasty meal….

Geo Borgia