Faith that moves mountains

Jesus answered them, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only will you do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ it will be done. Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.” ~ Matthew 21:21-22


Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. ~ Corrie ten Boom

When I first started writing meditations on scripture in blog form, I approached them as I did in my very first Bible class in Seminary.  I wanted to reflect without outside commentary, unless it was commentary I remembered having read before. Or commentary that had already been absorbed into my thought processes about the text from lectures, books, or sermons.

Every so often, however, a text comes along where I really wish I wasn't going in without a net, so to speak - and where I'm not sure even anything I've read before or heard before helps me. This text is one of those. It's a really tough text in a lot of ways.

These two verses come at the end of one of the most difficult stories about Jesus.  He has just cursed a fig tree because it wouldn't bear fruit.  It withered and died, and would never bear fruit again.

And these comments from Jesus on faith close that passage out.

There are two difficult strains of thought we are presented with. First, the fact that Jesus is linking faith to the destruction of the fig tree (and also the violence that would come from moving a mountain into the sea)!

The second, however, is the notion that doubt is a bad thing and if we have faith without doubt, that we too can make such destructive and supernatural feats!

If indeed, that's what Jesus is saying...

It has begun to occur to me now whenever I read the passage, that the very notion of faith - of hope even in the midst of doubt and absent of any certainty - IS in and of itself a supernatural feat!

That most likely 100 times a week you find yourself in a circumstance that feels like moving mountains, and yet you still come out to the other side.

That's faith.

That every day, despite pandemic and political polarization and the 24 hour news cycle showing us terrors and tragedies all day long, the little tiny bit of faith you have, gets you through the day, sometimes dropping you to your knees in prayer just to say "help" or "please" or "Lord have mercy."  

That's faith.

That despite living in an often cynical and sometimes nihilistic world, you feel compelled to be with other folks in community - whether in church or in another group, even if it is through Zoom - just so you can be with them and provide support and love and comfort and sometimes even just plain fun!  

That's some faith right there too.

That sometimes the doubt that has haunted you becomes less of a burden and more of a point of growth and curiosity and hope.

That is faith blooming and blossoming!

There's much else to wonder about as to why Jesus cursed the fig tree to begin with, but perhaps that nudge of doubt might be OK to just sit with.  Might be OK to pray about.

Might be something to just know that we can't have certainty about, but can have perfectly supernatural, super-sized hope about.

God of mystery and hope, help us to cling to the faith you have created in us. Amen.

Thoughts for engagement:

- Is faith sometimes hard? Does keeping faith in difficult times feel like moving mountains sometimes?

- Has doubt ever led you to a growing faith?

- Who are some Biblical characters you can think of that had great faith even when faced with "mountain"-like odds?