Faith is Caught More Than Taught

 "And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.'"  Luke 19:8

 The movie Mystery, Alaska is about a small village in south central Alaska where hockey is king.  The highlight of each winter week is a Saturday hockey game among the top ten male hockey players of the community, determined by a committee that was chaired by the mayor.  The lead character in the movie is Sheriff John Biebe, one of the top ten players, husband of Donna and father of two young boys, Mike and Joey, 8 and 4 years old. 

 Joey, the 4-year old, uses a four-letter word in front of his father, and his father sternly admonishes him, and asks his older son, "Where did he learn that?"  Michael says, "In the locker room, Dad."   "From whom," asks Sheriff John.  Michael answers, "From everyone Dad, you know how it is in there!"

 As you know by now, on these Lenten Sundays we are looking, one at a time, at the Five Principles of the Life of the Church according to David W Anderson and Paul Hill in the book "Frogs Without Legs Can't Hear." 

Their fourth principle of the life of the church is, “Faith is Caught More Than Taught.”

 In no way does this principle minimize formalized Christian education, but it does insist that much of what is involved in human learning is more than academic.  It is also experiential. 

 Nobody deliberately taught little Joey a vulgar word.  But he learned it anyway.  He caught it from merely hanging around the men in the locker room.  Like a board receives darts, it stuck to him.

 When I look back on the best teachers that I have ever had the thing that sticks in my mind about them are not the specific things they taught me out of books or in the classroom, but the essence of who they were that I "caught" in my soul.

 While in seminary each student is assigned a faculty advisor.  My advisor was the head of the church history department.  Professor Sonnack was a rather distinguished and formidable man who dressed in the finest suits and was noted for speaking the unadulterated truth in every situation with little regard for discretion. I always walked into his office with a certain degree of fear and trembling.  In the first year of seminary students gathered with their advisors twice a month as a group.  There were six of us assigned to Professor Sonnack.  Several months into the year we gathered as usual.  One of the students was having a really difficult time both academically and emotionally as this student’s mother was dying of cancer.  After listening to the student pour out his heart to the group, Professor Sonnack got out of his chair and invited us to gather around the troubled student for prayer.  He invited us to get down on our knees, hold hands and he led us in prayer.  I’ll never forget that scene of the seven of us on our knees, holding hands, being led in prayer by the distinguished and formidable Professor.  I “caught” all kinds of things that day that I’ve never forgotten: things about humility, compassion, community and prayer.

 Think of a few of the great lessons of life that you have learned that have stuck to your heart - things you will never forget - things you carry around with you - things that are etched into your soul - things that perhaps you employ on a regular basis - positive or negative, either way. 

 First of all, identify them.  What are they?  Second, how did you learn them?  Did you learn them in a classroom or academic setting?  Perhaps, but I also bet that experience most likely had a part.

 For example: The Christian faith speaks much about sacrificial giving and generosity.  It's a theme Jesus visited, one way or another, more than any other theme.  We all know many of things Jesus said and many of the stories he told concerning generosity.  However, we can know the stories cold, and perhaps even quote Jesus until the cows come home, but does that make us generous? - not necessarily!   There comes a moment when the gap between the head and the heart must be connected.  There comes a point when head knowledge must translate itself into heart-felt action. 

 Speaking for myself, I never knew how blessed it is to give until I finally did it.  I never knew the fulfillment of sacrificial giving until I did it.  I never knew the joy of giving myself away until I did it.  Doing it sealed it for me.  Experiencing it etched it into my soul and fused my head and heart into one piece.

 Someone told me a story just this week about a woman who lost her husband after 30 years of marriage.  She had been a Christian her whole life, deeply involved in the life of the church in all the usual ways. Tragically, the crises of her husband's loss eventually caused her to lose her faith, and she descended into bitterness and cynicism.  She told her friends that she was deeply disappointed and disillusioned with God.  She declared she was through with God.  She noted that she had been a good person all her life, and if this was her reward she had no time for God. 

 I don't know anything about this woman other that what I was told.  I also do know that anger at God in the midst of a profound loss is a normal reaction and one of the first stages of the grieving process. I know all of that.   But one thing I have noted in my ministry over the years is that the people who make it though profound losses and come out the other end with faith still in tact, even stronger than ever, almost always had much more than merely a head faith going into the crises.  The people who weather the storms of life and still have faith have managed to bridge the gap between the head and the heart.  In their lives, the head and the heart are not two separate pieces, but one whole piece.  

 Do you know what the biggest chasm in the world is?  No, it is not the Grand Canyon or the Royal Gorge and any other great gouge on the face of the earth.  The greatest chasm in the world can be the chasm that separates the head and the heart. 

I can read about Jesus saying things like "Take up your cross and follow me" or "Do not fear," or "Do not worry about your life."   But does that mean that when the moment of truth comes for me to take up my cross or heed his promise, I trust him enough to do it?

 The formation of a vital and living faith is not restricted to formal Christian learning settings such as Sunday School, Confirmation, or any number of classes.  The nurture of faith is not restricted to memorizing Bible verses and knowing all the Bible stories.  Of course, it is important to have a solid theological and Biblical foundation!  Amen to that!   But it is also important to have experiences that apply Biblical knowledge, personalize theological ideas, and put all of that head stuff into heart-action in the real world. 

 I'll never forget a man I got to know when I was doing my clinical work in seminary.  This man had so many things wrong with him it was unbelievable.  It would take me ten minutes to list them all.  He had experienced stupendous grief in his life, losing his wife and two of his children.  One day I was sitting at his bedside when he said to me, "Young man don't ever forget God is good!" 

 I was overwhelmed!  I was dumfounded! God is good!  How can you say God is good after all the horrible things you have had to endure?  God is good! 

 I can sit in Sunday School Class or listen to sermons all day long and hear that God is good.  There's nothing particularly remarkable about that.   But when a person like this man, who had been through what he had been through, grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye and said, "Young man don't ever forget God is good", that's a whole different deal!  I can't get enough of that!  That touches me at a deep place in my soul.

 I believe the story of Zacchaeus is a classic case of faith being caught more than taught.  What do we know about Zacchaeus?  He was chief tax collector, which means he was especially despised.  The whole tax system was characterized by corruption, gouging average people for as much as possible - all sanctioned by the Roman authorities.

 We are told he was short.   He couldn't see over the crowd to get a glimpse at Jesus parading past, and presumable no one was about to give him their curbside place.  So, he ran down the street ahead of the parade and climbed a tree.  

 You know the rest of the story.  Jesus stopped under the tree, invited himself to Zacchaeus' house for dinner.  The community was scandalized that Jesus would do such a thing, and the next thing we know Zacchaeus is confessing his sins, giving his wealth away and paying everybody back fourfold.  

 I don't know what happened around the dinner table, but there is no indication that Jesus preached any sermons or held any seminars on honesty and integrity.  I believe that Zacchaeus "caught" something while in the presence of Jesus.  I believe he experienced a love and integrity so deep that it connected his head and his heart and got etched into his soul - and it changed his life. 

 Remember that great story in Matthew 14 when the disciples are out on the Sea of Galilee in their little boat, and they’re being battered to and fro by the wind and waves, and suddenly Jesus comes walking to them on the water?   It scared the daylights out of the disciples at first, until Jesus reassured them it was he.  Peter answered Jesus and said, "Lord, if it's you, command me to come to you on the water."  Jesus said, "Come."  It says that "Peter… started walking on the water" towards Jesus, that is until fear overcame him, and then he sank like a rock.  But for a precious few moments Peter "caught" something in Jesus that empowered him to get out of that boat and do the most ridiculous, illogical, miraculous thing he ever could have done. It was a paramount act of faith.   If he would have thought about it first with his head he never would have done it.  For a few brief moments Peter was connected to Jesus in a way that enabled him to do what the head says is impossible.  For a few brief moments Peter "caught" the power and glory of Jesus like he never had before. 

 So what does this principle mean for us?  It means many things.

 First, as a congregation it means that we need to commit ourselves to do a whole lot more than merely formalized Christian Education in our faith formation ministries.  And we have begun that journey.  Our Faith Inkubators confirmation ministry, mentoring programs, our home ministry emphasis, mission and service trips are all examples of programs that provide the experiential component to faith formation. 

 Second, we need to understand we cannot live in two separate worlds.  We cannot split ourselves up and have our Christian world and our secular world. Being Christian is not playing a role at certain times and in certain places. It is not mere assent to certain doctrines and beliefs.   It is a full time endeavor. If we try to split ourselves apart we will undoubtedly sabotage and undermine faith.  The Christian faith is personal, but it is not private.  (repeat)   Personal and private are not the same thing.  They are not even close.  All of the great reformers of the church, including Benedict of Clairveaux, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and the Wesley brothers understood that faith was not merely a set of doctrines and beliefs, but a way of life forged through a life-time of wrestling with God in the midst of real, daily life experiences.  Faith is captured in the midst of life experiences that make us keenly aware of our needs and the hope that is found in the grace of God.   

 Finally, it means that there do come times when we must believe with our feet.  You've heard me say this before.  If I waited every time for my head to figure everything out, nothing much would happen.  If I waited every time for my heart to "feel right" about it, I would have a very inconsistent and fickle faith.  Much of the time, it means simply making my feet move in the direction that Jesus calls me even if my head is not sure and my heart is afraid.  The thing I have discovered and rediscovered countless times is that when I do, somewhere along the way I "catch" the truth and power of the gospel, and it etches itself into my soul.  Like Zacchaeus and Peter and many others I become convicted of the gospel's truth and power, and my head, heart and my whole being are finally reconciled in one piece.    Amen.