and that will be enough

Do you believe in Jesus Christ? If so – and I sincerely trust that you do – what is it that you believe? These are not mere rhetorical inquiries nor are they intended to disparage or dismiss; rather they are posed to provoke, to call forth serious consideration of exactly who Jesus is and what he calls us to believe. Simple acceptance is insufficient, for Jesus demands that we not only believe in him but that we live in him and that through our living we bring testimony and glory to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Trinity - Three Persons in One God

The Trinity – Three Persons in One God

It is how we live our lives that give the truest reflection to how we might respond to the first question. Anyone can say “Yes, I believe in Jesus Christ” even while living a sinful life. Anyone can profess to be a Christian, ignoring all that is demanded to be a true and faithful follower of our Lord and Savior. Anyone can live in and of the world while loudly and publicly proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ. Anyone can … but then anyone can be “a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.” [1 Cor 13:1]

Jesus calls us to believe in him, to have faith in him just as we believe and have faith in God the Father. Throughout his public ministry Jesus continually told his disciples – and therefore each of us – that everything he said and did came from the Father and yet, no matter how many times he professed his complete and total unity with God the Father, his disciples – both then and now – have shown great reluctance in understanding and believing the truth of it.

We see the man and hear his voice but fail to connect the dots, to wed the human with the divine. Jesus said “The Father and I are one” and the Jews tried to stone him, for they saw only a man making himself to be God rather than truly God in human form [Jn 10:30-33].

We believe, yet we do not believe, much as the father of the boy possessed by a demon cried out “I do believe, help my unbelief!” [Mk 9:24] All too often, it is our unbelief that overwhelms our belief, our head rebelling against our heart, the visible denying the invisible.

Jesus tells us that “No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father” [Jn 14:7] and again we fail to hear the voice of God, we refuse to accept that it is God speaking, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are indivisibly united in their Oneness. We still ask, as Philip did “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us” [Jn 14:8] and refuse to hear Jesus clearly and unequivocally reply “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” [Jn 14:9-10]

It is only within your heart that you may know and respond to the question as to what you believe. Only you and God know what you do and do not believe, and that means you and … God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

About the author: Deacon Chuck

Deacon Chuck was ordained into the permanent diaconate on September 17, 2011, in the ministry of service to the Diocese of Reno and assigned to St. Albert the Great Catholic Community. He currently serves as the parish bulletin editor and website administrator. Deacon Chuck continues to serve the parish of Saint Albert the Great Catholic Community of the Diocese of Reno, Nevada. He is the Director of Adult Faith Formation and Homebound Ministries for the parish, conducts frequent adult faith formation workshops, and is a regular homilist. He currently serves as the bulletin editor for the parish bulletin. He writes a weekly column intended to encompass a broad landscape of thoughts and ideas on matters of theology, faith, morals, teachings of the magisterium and the Catholic Church; they are meant to illuminate, illustrate, and catechize the readers and now number more than 230 articles. His latest endeavor is "Colloqui: A journal for restless minds", a weekly journal of about 8 pages similar in content to bulletin reflections. All his reflections, homilies, commentaries, and Colloqui are posted and can be found on his website: http://deaconscorner.org. Comments are always welcome and appreciated. He is the author of two books: "The Voices of God: hearing God in the silence" which offers the reader insights into how to hear God’s voice through all of the noise that surrounds us; and "Echoes of Love: Effervescent Memories" which through a combination of prose and verse provides the reader with a wonderful journey on the way to discovering forever love. He regularly speaks to groups of all ages and size and would welcome the opportunity to speak to your group.

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