Paschal M. Corby OFM Conv.
In the Letter to the Hebrews, in the context of an exposition on the virtue of faith, we read: faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (proof) of things not seen (Heb 11:1, RSV). In the ordinary way of thinking ‘assurance’ and ‘proof’ are not words that the modern consciousness associates with faith. They seem too precise; too certain and sure. Indeed, to the mind of the modern world, people of faith are often portrayed as being a little unsophisticated, too trusting, not overly rational. As opposed to the reliability of science and technology, the domain of faith seems a little abstract, less tangible, beginning where the certainty of knowledge and facts ends. Faith is deemed an escape into fantasy, or a psychological crutch, or at best a leap into the unknown.
But this is unfair. In reality, we all live by faith – by trust, by leaning on others. I have faith in my mechanic that my car will slow to a stop when I place my foot on the brake. I have trust that the engineers have calculated correctly the weight capacity of the bridge that I drive over. I believe that the medication that my doctor prescribes me is doing me good and not harm. Unconsciously we practice faith every moment of the day. From another angle, while on a different scale, faith in God is not unreasonable. Faith is not simply personal feeling or wishful thinking. As an assurance and proof faith is based on something solid and reliable. Faith is not some whimsical hope, but a sure confidence that our hopes will be fulfilled. And this certainty of faith is guaranteed by the solidity of its foundation – on God himself, and on his word which is truth.
Faith is essentially our response to God’s word; to his initiative. Sacred Tradition calls this human response to God ‘the obedience of faith’, which means to submit freely to the word that has been heard. By faith, we submit our whole selves – our mind and will – to God; we believe in him, trust in his word and accept his invitation to be in covenant with him. Sacred Scripture gives us the example of Abraham, our Father in faith, who in response to a revelation from God, left his homeland in Ur of the Chaldeans and journeyed to a foreign land which God promised as his heritage (cf. Gen 12:1-3). Though old and barren, he and Sarah believed in the promise of the Lord that he would make of them a great nation, with as many descendants as the stars in the sky (cf. Gen 15:5). And even when, with the birth of his son Isaac, his hope in the Lord’s promise was beginning to be fulfilled, Abraham did not hesitate to obey the word of the Lord in lifting his hand to sacrifice his only son (cf. Gen 22:1-10). Abraham did not know that God would stay his hand from killing his son. He did not know the blueprint of God’s plan. But he knew God to be a God of promise; he knew that God was truth and love, and therefore, in faith, was obedient to his word.
Along with Abraham, the Church identifies our Lady Mary as one who “most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith” (CCC, n. 148). On receiving the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, Mary believed in his word because nothing is impossible to God, and proclaimed herself to be “the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38). And despite the many trials she endured – the presence of the cross that cast its shadow over her life – she never ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God’s word. For this the Church venerates her as “the purest realization of faith” (CCC, n. 149).
Finding his place within this genealogy of the obedience of faith, Saint Francis of Assisi was marked by a radical openness to God’s word; an eagerness to respond. There is a story from early in his life of conversion that clearly illustrates such obedience. Listening to holy Mass, Francis heard the gospel of Christ sending out the twelve, with power and authority, to preach the kingdom of God and to heal.
And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them” (Lk 9:1-5).
Moved by the gospel, but desiring to understand the words better, he went to the priest afterwards humbly begging him to explain the gospel to him. As Thomas of Celano relates:
“When he heard that Christ’s disciples should not possess gold or silver or money, or carry on their journey a wallet or a sack, nor bread nor a staff nor to have shoes nor two tunics, but that they should preach the kingdom of God and penance, the holy man, Francis, immediately exulted in the spirit of God. ‘This is what I want, this is what I seek, this is what I desire with all my heart.’ The holy father, overflowing with joy, hastened to implement the words of salvation, and did not delay before he devoutly began to put into effect what he heard. Immediately, he took off the shoes from his feet, put down the staff from his hands, and, satisfied with one tunic, exchanged his leather belt for a cord. After this, he made for himself a tunic showing the image of the cross, so that in it he would drive off every fantasy of the demons. He made it very rough, so that in it he might crucify the flesh with its vices and sins. He made it very poor and plain, a thing that the world would never covet. As for the other things he heard, he set about doing them with great care and reverence. For he was no deaf hearer of the gospel; rather he committed everything he heard to his excellent memory and was careful to carry it out to the letter.”[1]
What made Saint Francis respond so promptly and joyfully to the words of the Gospel? What can he teach us regarding the obedience of faith? First, as we are told, Saint Francis was no deaf hearer of the Gospel. This means that he accepted the Gospel for what it is – God’s Word that speaks to us. Accordingly, Francis took the words of Sacred Scripture seriously. He believed that God spoke to him through it. He believed that it possessed a power to penetrate his life and convert him to God. He also believed in the Church as the faithful interpreter of this Word. He believed that, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God spoke through is preachers. He believed that God was present when the Gospel was proclaimed in the liturgy and opened for us by his ministers.
Through his faith in the Gospel – his attentive listening to the Word of God – Saint Francis was freed from the destructive force of doubt. He was liberated from the burden of endless questioning and from the modern scourge of suspicion and pride. In his humility he could accept the humility of God who made himself present in human history and speaks to us in human words. In his poverty he could freely accept and respond to the Word of God. He was not distracted by his own plans, desires, possession. He was free to be filled with the good things of God. He could accept living without staff, or bag, or bread, or money so as to live in complete dependence on the Lord. Saint Francis shows us that it is only in poverty and humility that we can accept God’s providence, with the openness to hear the call of the Gospel, and respond to it with faith and joy.
Furthermore, as witnessed in his eagerness to put the Word of God into action, Saint Francis approached Sacred Scripture as a word of instruction. It was not enough to hear the Word. It must penetrate, form and move us.
In response to the Apostle’s warning that “the letter kills, but the spirit gives life” (2 Cor 3:6), Saint Francis wrote in admonition:
“Those people are put to death by the letter who only wish to know the words alone, that they might be esteemed wiser than others and be able to acquire great riches to give to their relatives and friends. And those religious are put to death by the letter who are not willing to follow the spirit of the divine letter but, instead, wish only to know the words and to interpret them for others.”
Those put to death by the letter seek to possess the Word of God as their own; to stand over it. Such are the Scribes and Pharisees in the gospel who, occupying the chair of Moses, possess a certain authority over the Word. Christ therefore admits that one should listen to them and be willing to observe the words they speak, but not to follow their example for they do not practice what they preach (cf. Mt 23:3). They are likened to “whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Mt 23:27; RSV). They are put to death by the letter because they seek boast in their knowledge without allowing it to penetrate to their hearts.
But, continues Saint Francis, “those people are brought to life by the spirit of the divine letter who do not attribute every letter they know, or wish to know, to the body but, by word and example, return them to the most high Lord God to Whom every good belongs.”[2] While the pride of the Scribes and Pharisees and scribes is imaged as self-contentment – refusing to listen, obstinately rejecting dependence, grasping for control – those brought to life by the spirit of the divine letter are humble and open before the Word of God. They are willing not simply to hear God’s word but also to respond to it; to allow it to penetrate their minds and hearts; to change their lives. Like Saint Francis, they seek to “implement the words of salvation” with joy and haste.
And while the radical response of the saint might seem foolish, unrealistic and overly literal, it is evidence of a heart that has been possessed by the Lord. For, as opposed to the self-contentment of the proud, the humble live from God and are willing to be in debt to Him – to recognize that all things come by way of grace, and that we have no means of repaying the gift.
In their conviction of the sufficiency of God’s Word – in their obedience of faith – the example of the saints is not merely for our edification. They are not simply to be admired, but to be imitated. Saint Francis himself warns us against merely glorying in the lives of the saints: ‘it is a great shame for us that the saints have accomplished great things and we want only to receive glory and honour by recounting them.’[3] It is our privilege not simply to know them but to be one with them. To be attentive hearers of God’s Word with a pure and open heart; to accept the Word of God in all its power in humility and poverty; to have conviction and courage to put the Word of God into action; to live in the obedience of faith. Then we will be true sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, open to the power of the Holy Spirit, and conformed to the image of the Son.
[1] 1Cel IX, 22.
[2] Admonitions of St Francis, VII.
[3] Admonitions of St Francis, VI.