March 25, 2015

“Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a dumb spirit; and wherever it seizes him, it dashes him down; and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid; and I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” Jesus answered, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you?” Jesus continues, “All things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:14ff

“I think there is no suffering greater than what is caused by the doubts of those who want to believe. I know what torment this is, but I can only see it, in myself anyway, as the process by which faith is deepened. What people don’t realize is how much religion costs. They think faith is a big electric blanket, when of course it is the cross. It is much harder to believe than not to believe.” Flannery O’Connor (1925 – 1964) “For All The Saints” volume III, p. 963

“It is much harder to believe than not to believe”, says Flannery O’Connor. To that I say Amen. It is much harder to believe in the cross of Jesus Christ, in the teachings of Jesus, in the selflessness of Jesus than not to believe in all of these – just like it is easier to not believe in “Big Foot” than to believe. We only have a few eyewitness accounts of Big Foot – some relics like hair and footprints, and of course the fuzzy, grainy, shaky, brief seconds of video that purports to show the creature. But even with scant “evidence”, millions of people believe that Big Foot exists. So, what do we say to the “nay sayers” who dispute the existence of the death and resurrection of Jesus? We only have the written accounts of a few witnesses. We have just a few relics – the Shroud of Turin; pieces of the cross; the cave where he was buried and resurrected, (not to mention the site of his birth, supposedly). We have more “evidence” about Jesus than Big Foot – and yet people still do not believe in Jesus – it is easier to doubt than to believe.

Flannery O’Connor goes on to say, “When we get our spiritual house in order, we’ll be dead. Don’t expect faith to clear things up for you. It is trust, not certainty.” (p. 963)

Until we get a carcass of a Big Foot, there is no proof that this creature exists – we can only take the many eye-witness accounts as proof – whether credible or not. So at this point it is easier to say that Big Foot does not exist – to say that you do not believe in Big Foot – than to say that you do believe. But it does take faith and courage to stand up for your opinion about the beast.

So, will you have the courage to stand up for your faith in Jesus when others say he didn’t exist? We have nothing to stand on except for some eyewitness accounts about Jesus, and G*d’s promises from so many years ago. One thing that Big Foot and Jesus have in common is this: the accounts of their presence covers thousands of years even without much physical evidence. But Jesus’ presence is so powerful through the Holy Spirit that our faith will sustain us, even though our faith will not necessarily clear things up. That is where trust comes in. G*d promised to send the Messiah – we trust that Jesus is the One. For me, that is all I need. But as for Big Foot, I will need more….

Pastor Dave