The Law of Faith

The concept of laws is very much the norm for the society of the 21^st Century. We all live by them in some way, shape or form. Laws, regulations and rules have existed since the beginning of civilization, and this has applied for many a year to religion as well. We understand the rationale of laws in the real world, but when it comes to religion, how does it work?

The three core monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are formed on the basis of laws. There are laws that govern so much of how religion works, such as the basis of Eucharist, the salat in Islam, there are many laws that govern the basis of how religion works. What is significantly different is the underlying basis of why practice our religion the way we do. This is the faith element of religion, the part of the unknown that we believe about the existence of God. The question that has always plagued humans has been the question of linking faith and law, as in the law of religion and why things are done the way they are in each individual religion. Indeed, much of the question of faith comes from the mechanisms that lead to faith, and in that, there are many questions and discussions asked about the practice of faith.

What is crucial then, about the readings from this week, are ones that pertain to the association between faith and law.

Dt 11:18

“Let these words of mine remain in your heart and in your soul; fasten them on your hand as a sign and on your forehead as a circlet.”

Dt 11:26 - 28

“See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: a blessing, if you obey the commandments of Yahweh our God that I enjoin on you today; a curse, if you disobey the commandments of Yahweh your God and leave the way I have marked out for you today, by going after other gods you have not known.”

The first reading, from Deuteronomy, is one of remembering the laws “as a circlet”, something that is to be remembered fully and without hesitation. However inflexible this may sound, the sections surrounding these two passages are important to note, about what is possible with undying obedience to God, and the riches that he would give. The second passage serves then to remind us of what would happen if we strayed from the path. This in itself is demonstrated by so much in biblical texts, and in history itself.

The second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to Romans, is divided into two sections:

Rm 3:21 – 25

“God’s justice that was made known through the Law and the Prophets has now been revealed outside the Law, since it is the same justice of God that comes through faith to everyone, Jew and pagan alike, who believes in Jesus Christ. Both Jew and pagan sinned and forfeited God’s glory, and both are justified through the free gift of his grace by being redeemed in Christ Jesus who was appointed by God to sacrifice his life so as to win reconciliation through faith. In this way God makes his justice known; first, for the past, when sins went unpunished because he held his hand, then, for the present age, by showing positively that he is just, and that he justifies everyone who believes in Jesus.”

Rm 3:26-27

“So what becomes of our boasts? There is no room for them. What sort of law excludes them? The sort of law that tells us what to do? On the contrary, it is the law of faith, …”

Rm 3:28

“… since, as we see it, a man is justified by faith and not by doing something the Law tells him to do.”

Rm 3:29 – 31

“Is God the God of Jews alone and not of the pagans too? Of the pagans too, most certainly, since there is only one God, and he is the one who will justify the circumcised because of their faith and justify the uncircumcised through their faith. Do we mean that faith makes the Law pointless? Not at all: we are giving the Law its true value.”

To explain this further, the missing passages are inserted in italics. It’s important here to note the missing passages, because using these; it provides an illuminating element to the linking of faith and law. From this passage, St. Paul makes it very clear that both are intrinsically linked. You cannot have faith without adherence to the law, and through the law – whether it be adherence or practice, one grows in their faith. Beyond this teleological link, there is a much deeper element here, that we act our faith because we honestly believe, hope, wish, desire and seek what the law says will come through our practice of this faith. In the Eucharist, we believe that at communion, the offerings made upon that altar are the body and blood of Christ, that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that they are not representations. That when we pray that the Lord listens to us, whether it is happy prayer or mournful, complaining prayer.

There are questions of whether our practice of faith actually is what the Lord is happy with; such are the arguments of theologians, the divisions of faith, the difference of opinions that exist from person to person. It is wise to question your faith and the actions one undertakes because of faith. Even the most pious sometimes would wonder about the existence of God, or whether or not their actions give glory to God. Then, it would become like a Chicken and Egg scenario. Which came first? The Chicken or the Egg? In essence, if the Gospel of St. John’s word is to be taken, the faith came first. The Word came first. Then the laws governing the Word came, and thus sprung a methodology of practicing faith, to strengthen it, to guide it, to make us question it occasionally, to bring us joy and sadness from it, to foster and engender a spirituality within us. St. Paul continues onwards in the following passages to quote the example of Abraham and his faith in the calling of God, but there are many more examples of faith within the bible, in history, and in real life, of the actions of faith and how real individuals did not seek any sort of glory as they acted on their faith.

Paul’s reading also reminds us of being careful in the practice of faith, because a lack of attention to the understanding and practice of faith will lead to a person’s undoing, which Jesus discusses in his final reading, from the gospel according to Matthew:

Mt 7:21-27

“It is not anyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven. When the day comes many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?" Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers! 'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock. But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!”

Here is the reminder of what it means to be faithful. The saying goes “Actions Speak Louder than Words.” However, in the case of faith and belief, the actions and word must be intertwined together so tightly that there is not an opening within it. Take a traditional braided rope. Its strength comes from the braids that are woven together in a simple manner that give it the strength to do things that a single braid is not capable of. Yet, as soon as the braids weaken, a slight gap appears in between the individual braids; the rope is useless and needs to be discarded. It is the same with faith here, and the failure of faith becomes apparent, and it is the weakness of faith that leads to the collapse of the self spiritually. Both the word – that is, scripture, the teachings of the religious leaders, and the writings of others in their faith – are intermingled with your own actions, or how you use the word that was given to us with the hope that we would learn from it. Thus, it’s not a call to blindly follow, but to apply the wisdom that the Lord has given us to what we absorb in our spiritual lives, and to engage in the active development of our spirituality and of our daily lives, to talk and discuss and develop an enormous understanding and acceptance of the world that we live in, and all aspects of our lives.