Faith was radioactive in Israel in the year 33 BC. Radioactive … of or emitting from a powerful and dangerous form of energy.
The faith of the principles involved was powerful, and it was dangerous to the powers that were.
Supposing we should, for Christmas this year, ionize our faith. Ionization … the process by which an atom or a molecule acquires a negative or positive charge by gaining or losing electrons to form ions.
Let’s take Mary’s faith, for instance, and see how it relates. At the very least, this might be an interesting Advent diversion!
Hers was devoid of false pride, of false humility, of self-reference or self-preservation. Remove those. What a combination! Whatever the Lord God has seen accomplished in laboratories over the ages, on testing grounds, on land, sea, or in the air, nothing compares with the combustion of His plan and her faith.
Joseph: don’t you love him? He began with a righteous decision, not to disgrace Mary publicly, and ended with public censure and divine authority to keep safe the very Son of God and His mother. He added to his righteousness, faith, an unadulterated trust in the Lord Jehovah, God of his fathers, an obedience par excellence. Among the rich and powerful of every age, in the annals of time and the biographies of men of science and vision and accomplishment, Joseph made sure that Jesus would live and survive and come to maturity in a cosmic holocaust designed to exterminate Him.
God could, of course, have just let the earth open and swallow every one who ever sought to injure or thwart Jesus, from His cradle to the grave; instead one man was given the inestimable privilege of guarding this Child into manhood. One person – huge responsibility. Food for Advent reflection.
Now then, might not our faith see our children through the crises they face? Might it not see our country through turmoil and deception and into greatness in the sight of God? Might faith not bring us into the very Presence of the very God, to receive His very power and the cloak of His very glory until we bear the very image of His Son?
Let’s light our Faith Candles tonight, and pray that we will not be left unchanged, or leave ourselves that way, afraid to add to our faith (ii Peter 1:4-8) or to lay our lives down and subtract doubt and slothfully static fears (John 12:24-26.) The love of God is the penultimate combustion, and we get to radiate it always and everywhere.
Operation Upshot
public domain, Federal Government Employee photo
Marketplace Monastics 