THE INTELLIGIBLE NATURE OF CHRISTIAN FAITH

 

Dear brothers and sisters, the readings of today are preparation for the Pentecost Sunday. We could see the work of the Holy Spirit in all the readings of the day. In the first reading, Philip is preaching in the city of Samaria.  Upon hearing his preaching the evil spirits run away. This is the greatest sign that there is no place for sin and evil in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John are sent to Samaria to invoke the Holy Spirit on the new converts. Philip as a deacon could only baptise the people. He has no power to perform the rite of confirmation. Only the apostles, who are the bishops of that time could perform the sacrament of confirmation. This is the basis for today’s practice of administering confirmation by the bishops in the church. Philip also performs miracles in the city of Samaria. In every land, the initial proclamation is assisted by physical healing and exorcism. This external sign is a confirmation from the divine that the message of the evangelizers are true. In the post baptismal life, the external signs are very rare. This shows that the signs are pointers to the faith. We are recipient of the message, not the miracle. Those who seek religion or God for the sake of miracle are superstitious believers. Our Christian faith is not superstitious. Our faith is intelligible. As humans we have the capacity to know the divine to certain extent. God, the creator of human beings desires that we use our intellectual powers to grasp Him. Thus, God respects our capabilities and possibilities.

The second reading urges that we possess sufficient reason for our faith (1 Pet 3:15). St. Peter, the uneducated and country fisher man insists the believers to comprehend the faith intellectually. One’s defense for the faith should proceed from reason to devotions. We practice devotions to grow in holiness and attain spiritual perfection but intellectual grasping is very much needed to hold firm in faith. Of course, there are some Christians in every corner of the world who are happy with mere faith without any reasoning. They are simple people. They are not wrong in having such a faith. They are most appreciated for accepting our faith without any enquiry. Through this attitude they express total trust in the Lord. The intellectual enquiry is insisted to facilitate the Christian living. Every civilization and development proceeds from education of the people. Similarly, deepening of Christian living and conviction of Christian doctrine proceed from the education to faith.

St. Peter asks us to do the reasoning of our faith with charity and gentleness (1 Pet 3:15). We present our faith, never force on anyone. We explicate our hope, never water down other religious traditions. We celebrate our love, never limit this celebration to ourselves. Actually, what St. Peter urges us is; to have sufficient reason for the hope we have. With regard to afterlife, we only have the promise. We haven’t seen either heaven or hell. Thus, it is worth researching on the content of our faith. If today Christians have rich theology and sound catechism it is because of the intellectual pursuit of the fathers of the church. The primitive church was open to debate, research, dialogue and revise. Intellectual enquiry added more authenticity to our faith. St. Peter tells the Christians to proclaim the Gospel through their deeds. The gospel of Jesus is to accept injustice patiently and defeat hatred with love. Following this, peter asks the followers of Jesus to keep their conscience pure. The persecutors should be punished with shame that they could only make false allegations against Christians. Let them not persecute us for our sins, rather let them persecute us through their malice. In allowing this to happen, we gain the opportunity to practice the virtue of forgiveness which has the potency to convert the persecutors.   

The gospel of the day is to love the commandment. Love is done in freedom. Thus, we need to obey the commandment of Christ with love. The gospel is very clear that only those who love keep the commandments. Those who keep the commandments need not be lovers of Jesus. They may do so out of fear of hell. Such devotions to faith is not worth. One can keep the commandments of Jesus with love if only s/he has knowledge of Christian faith. We can love the person fully if only we know something about that person. In the same way, we can love Jesus and follow His commandments if only we have some knowledge about Him. Thus, St. Peter is right in saying that we possess knowledge about our faith. For this Holy Spirit is the guide. May He assist us in our striving to know Christ more and more.     

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