The character Dani Rojas (played by Cristo Fernández) famously says “Football is life!” in the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. As a passionate AFC Richmond striker, he uses this mantra to express his dedication to the sport.
The famous Trappist monk, Thomas Merton wrote, “Faith is life.”
There is no doubt to me that Merton would be surprised that this short line amid his masterful works on prayer has stood out and become a recent mantra.
It has become important to me because when it comes to faith, I make some mistakes over and again even as a baptized Christian for over 50 years. “Faith is life”, is a simple statement, there is nothing to it. What does that actually mean? Why has it become a prayer?
One mistake I make is to reduce faith to a mental conversation. When I do this my thoughts conclude that faith is a set of precepts to believe in. As such then the Nicene Creed becomes a list of Christian details to which one may ascribe to or not or sometimes wonder if my doubts cause me to be numbered among the heretics for not consenting these foundations are factual. The mistake is that faith is in my head alone.
Another mistake I make is to believe that my faith is the feeling quality of my prayer. So, if I am feeling good in prayer, emotionally connected to God, feeling “blessed” or faithful at prayer; than I can conclude my faith is strong or good. When I make this mistake, it is based on my subjective experience of “faith”.
Merton describes in New Seeds of Contemplation that faith is neither the effort of the mind nor a subjective feeling. Faith is active trust, active hope, active leaning forward into the obscure and unknown futurewhich is life. Faith is not a resignation of activity to show trust God will take care of things, nor is faith absent because we do not feel God.
“Faith is life.” It is an existential stance with God in our real life. It looks like a tree deeply rooted to the earth, standing strong, weathering the seasons, reaching for the sun.
When I am face to face with intractable problems, or complex challenges, or all the things I do not have control over in our present generation I recite, “Faith is life.”
In Eastertide it is helpful to recall the disciples gathered behind the locked door reflecting on the betrayals of Jesus, his experience of abandonment, the turning of the crowd, being mocked, tried, abused and executed. The full weight of impasse was present. Together they experience a faith crisis. Amid the bleakest moment of their faith, Jesus showed up raised from the dead, with one message, “Peace be with you”.
Just like the disciples, our vision is obscured. The way forward is the way we stand before the challenges. “Faith is life”.
“We walk by faith and not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1)
Each step with the mantra, “Faith is life” is a step toward trust even in uncertainty, a step toward more compassion in hard moments, a step in pace with God’s life that is peace amid conflict. Faith is life; it is a courageous stance to walk forward with the hope of our salvation.
by Canon Lisa Senuta
835 SW Polk St.