Faith revealed

Romans 1:16-17 (NRSV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’

i just read this verse again recently with one of my confirmation students.  We were discussing how Luther began his journey toward the Wittenberg Cathedral doors and his moment in history.  This was one of the verses we read as being crucial to that defining time.

It's a text of freedom.  For Luther it was freedom from the view of God he had previously had as a harsh judge who could not be satisfied.  Freedom from the angst and the fear that had caused Luther many a sleepless night.

In these few words though is still a reminder to us that faith is something to be lived by.  Faith isn't something we create or do, rather it is who we are.  Our trust in God is a living thing that frees us.  It frees us from worry and condemnation.  

Faith is revealed through faith for faith, Paul says.  Faith breeds faith.  The faith OF Jesus Christ becomes our faith IN Jesus Christ.  It grows and develops and matures and reveals and moves between us and in us.

Faith perhaps is still a word that we wrestle with because it somehow has gotten tangled up with other words.  Words like believe or positive thinking.  Faith is not a mental exercise.  It is not knowledge.  It is trust.  The trust a small child has in a parent to love and care for them.  It is the thing that propels us, not something we propel.  It is how we live.

The word Gospel means "good news," so this faith - this being made righteous through our living faith is good news, saving us not simply for a future "then," but also as a way to live now in freedom and hope.

Lord of hope, enliven my faith that it may be a witness to your infinite mercy,  Amen!