Whence our confidence?

Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent." - Jn 6: 29

Last night we reflected on this verse from this coming Sunday's Gospel.  We must trust God to reveal himself, to provide the gift of faith and the grace to walk in it.  This is his work, not ours, though we must make the choice to embrace it.  I know someone who insists that everything can be explained without God, through science, so there is no reason to believe in God.  (He also contends that faith in God has done more harm than any other thing in human history.)  I am finding that all my reasons for being the person I believe I should be, and all my limited ability to grow into that person, is wrapped up in this work of God.  So even though there may be other explanations (though he hasn't explained where it all came from) for the world, I find I must choose Christ, and I continue believe that this is because of God's work in me.

Now, a few thoughts from a passage I read before going to bed last night (this morning) from Fr. James Martin's book, My Life with the Saints:


It can be especially difficult to accept another's way of discipleship  if we are unsure of our own. 


I suppose the reason I don't get very upset with friends who hold very different beliefs about how the world works than I do is that I'm pretty sure of my way of discipleship.  Indeed, the strident voices we hear propounding their positions in the public square bear witness to this aspect of human nature: defensiveness arises from an inner belief that we may be wrong.  More . . .


The resulting misunderstanding can lead to disagreement and strife within the Christian community.  But it's good to remember that even the saints disagreed with one another - often strongly.  Quarrels between the saints have a venerable tradition in the Christian church, going all the way back to Peter and Paul.  

So what holds things together in the midst of this diversity? What keeps the communion of saints in communion?
The unity of the Christian saints rests on their commitment to Jesus Christ.  Like the early disciples, who trusted the judgment of their master, we must trust God's reasons for calling people quite different from us, even though those reasons may remain mysterious to us . . . 
Perhaps, in fact, all that kept the fractious disciples together was Jesus himself - not so much their reliance on him to settle disagreements, but their fundamental trust in him.

I find this reassuring.  I don't feel as if it is my job to bring others around to my point of view.  By the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, my job is simply to love with the love of Christ, and to let the Holy Spirit take care of the results, as well.

This Dilbert seems somehow related . . .