Faith and Doubt

Matthew 17:14-20

“Why could we not cast it out?” I can hear a measure of desperation in the disciples’question. They have seen Jesus perform incredible miracles. They have trusted Him with their lives and, later on, will give their lives for His sake. But at this point, perhaps for the first time, they are facing doubt—doubt about themselves and doubt about Jesus.

“Why could we not cast it out?” This question confronts a fundamental tension in the nature of faith. Jesus made it clear that he gave them power to exorcise demons, and their failure to do so either points to a failure of their own faith or a misplaced belief in Jesus.

For the next several weeks, we are going to explore the nature of faith. Everyone has faith in something. And at some point, everyone confronts this existential question that the disciples are now facing: Is there a fundamental inadequacy with either my set of beliefs or with the power of my faith?

To further complicate our personal faith, we find ourselves in a strange time. In America, we are dealing with two extremes: the extreme of overzealous, overconfident, judgmental religiosity, which tries at times to inappropriately foist particular beliefs on others; and, at the same time, the extreme of those who seek to demean the very nature of faith as an inherently judgmental and superstitious practice left over from pre-scientific ages.

Throughout history, there has always been a vigorous debate about the nature of faith. In the 1500s, during the time of the Reformation, they fought over the nature of saving faith. Was faith in and of itself sufficient for salvation, as Protestants claimed, or was it some combination of faith and works, as the Catholics claimed? Today, there is a debate within the church: whether or not a generic faith in any type of God is sufficient, or must there be an explicit belief that names Jesus as Lord and Savior to effectuate salvation?

Since we are all here in church today, I am operating under the assumption and personal belief that faith is an essential part of the human condition. And that faith fundamentally matters, not only for our own individual lives—it is not merely something personal—

but a society with a robust faith

… is more just,

… is more loving,

… is more merciful,

and brings greater peace and joy for everyone, regardless of their faith.

But faith is not simple, nor is it easy. In fact, God designed it this way, which the Bible makes eminently clear through the endless examples in Scripture that show us those with the greatest faith impact experienced profound and powerful failures and doubts.

I wonder if the father, who went to the disciples then went to Jesus, had the same doubts. We know he had a desperate need: the life of his son. And he comes to Jesus and prostrates himself: “Lord!” Certainly, we know this is true of a different person who approached Jesus. That man also had a sick child. And Jesus tells him, “All things are possible for those who believe.” “I believe; help my unbelief!”—help that part of me that has a hard time believing.

This is the nature of faith. We carry with us a set of beliefs—for those in monotheistic religions, the belief in a God who created all things; a God of great power that watches over us and loves us.

At some point in our lives, these beliefs will be tested. We see, as the author of Ecclesiastes lamented, “The wicked [are] rewarded for their wickedness, and the righteous [are] punished for their righteousness.”

And when we see this, especially when it affects us personally, these doubts can be debilitating. Charles Darwin, who began thinking he would be a country parson, found himself unable to hold onto belief in God—not because of evolution, but because of the death of his favorite child.

He could not reconcile the facts. Many of you in the pews today struggle with holding on to the notion of an all-powerful, all-loving God because of how much suffering is in the world. Many struggle with the notion that a man who lived some 2,000 years ago is one and the same as the eternal God who made everything.

The disciples saw that Jesus had great power and great wisdom, but their beliefs ran aground against reality: “Why could we not cast it out?” Why do good people suffer? Why is there so much injustice in the world?

Jesus’ reaction seems harsh—and I think He meant it to be. He had given the disciples great power, which at some point they were able to use. “You unbelieving generation!” Jesus was angry because He knew and understood the father’s desperation. Jesus knows how much people need God. And His disciples were not producing fruit because they were distracted by their own fears, by their own desire for power.

This doesn’t mean Jesus was giving up on them. At times we are all angry and frustrated, and Jesus is no different. And Jesus’ answer should be of great comfort to all of us who carry doubts.

Mine are both global and very personal.

There are times when, indeed, I struggle with the notion of an all-powerful and all-loving God, given the extent of injustice and just random bad luck for some people—horrible, devastating bad luck. Even calling it bad luck trivializes the suffering so many people encounter for reasons totally out of their control—whether it was a random event of nature, an unfortunate and debilitating disability at birth, or the fact of being born into a war-torn, impoverished country, as opposed to being “lucky” to live in a country with vast resources. But there are also very personal reasons: the death of my sister Rachel at only a few days old, and other tragedies that Wendy and our families have suffered. The people who came to Jesus aching for help undoubtedly knew many multiples of tragedies more than I have ever known.

And He asks of them one thing:

… not certainty,

… not perfection,

… not a well-reasoned, cogent faith,

… not all the answers—

Just one tiny thing, so small, almost imperceptible.

It is all God has ever needed.

It is thought that the vast expanse—the ridiculous, ludicrously gargantuan proportions of this universe so insanely big, that the fastest thing in existence, which is light, would take many billions of years, billions upon billions of years, to go from one side of the universe to the other—it is thought that this universe began as an infinitesimally small particle of matter. That is all God used to create everything.

And God looks to us to bring one small thing to the equation. And God will make something amazing out of it.

… God did it with Jacob, the liar and the trickster;

… God did it with Moses, filled with self-doubt;

… God did it with Sarah, the one who laughed;

… God did it with Jeremiah, who never stopped whining.

… God did it again and again and again.

And with you and with me, Jesus can create something fantastic and vast and powerful with just a mustard-seed-sized scrap of faith.

Jesus did it with the disciples. Clearly their faith was mixed up; it was a jumble of things. And though Jesus reprimands them, we find comfort in knowing that he does not give up on them. In fact, despite all of their stumbles, he invests the future of Christianity into their hands.

So come to Jesus with your nagging doubts, with your frustrations, with your anger,

But come in humility, in longing, in hope—for those who did, as the father with the sick child discovered, will find what they are looking for:

… peace in their hearts,

… hope in their soul,

… joy in life,

… and a deep trust

—not in facts, not in their own right thinking, but in the Living God. Amen.