Out Our Way:

Mark 11: 22-26

Out our way, just about everyone has heard about Goliath's terrors of that nasty old culvert along the nature trail in Beaver Creek. Even that mountain lion that popped by one day at the corral didn't bother him as much as that small bit of black plastic tubing crossing the trail.

But we manage to get voer tat culvert and conquer it each time because Goliath has learned to Trust, Try and Do. With encouragement, he has managed to accomplish what, in his mind seemed impossible.

In today's text, Jesus speaks about faith "moving mountains." The phrase was a common Jewish phrase for removing difficulties in life. It was said of a famous rabbi whose explanations of the scripture were so clear that texts whose meaning defied the minds of his students suddenly became clear, that "he moved mountains." Indeed, a good teacher was often described as a "mountain remover." So, when Jesus speaks about "moving mountains" He is referring to any difficulty that seems to block our way. And the key is to Trust, Try and Do.

Faith in God is trust in God, not in magic. The idea that if we say the right things, pray the right way, and believe hard enough, God will do our bidding is not Christianity but paganism. God always answers prayer - but sometimes the answer is "No." We come to God in trust that He loves us and wants the best for us - and that whatever difficulty (mountain) blocks our path, He can and will resolve it. But in His way - not necessarily ours.

Jesus spoke of prayer being sincere and prayed with expectation. Again, the question is trust. Do you believe God loves you and will guide you? When you pray, do you really think God is listening, or is it merely a ritual like avoiding stepping on the cracks on the sidewalk? The reality is miracles have and do and will occur where prayer abounds. You may recall my professor in seminary who saw the appearance of Mary atop a Christian cathedral in Egypt shortly after the terrible six-day war. When he asked a priest about it and why such things never seemed to happen in America, the kindly priest answered, "Because we expect these things to happen and you do not." God may say "no." But God will guide you in how to deal with it. God may also say, "yes" - but only to those who ask.

One final thought - Jesus also made it clear that we all need to do some soul searching before we pray. You may recall the parable Jesus told of the wedding feast. In resect for the sacred and joyful nature of the wedding, guests came in their best robes - "the wedding garment." Indeed, the father of the groom gave each guest the most gorgeous wedding robe any had ever seen, for even the finest garments of the guests were like dirty rags in comparison. Yet one man dared to enter with no wedding garment at all - and the father had the man thrown out for showing such disrespect.

When we come to God, we come in humility and let God clothe us in His righteousness rather than depend on our own. But first we must remove our own rags - which is the filth and decay of hate, anger, and an unwillingness to forgive others. We have to forgive if we seek to be forgiven, and only the forgiven who wear the new robes of Christ's righteousness may enter into the presence of the Lord. Pride and hate and anger have no place before God's throne. Only those who come to God in the spirit of love can hear the Voice of Him Who is love.

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John Bruington and Goliath serve the Havre area and First Presbyterian Church. Their book "Out Our Way: Theology Under Saddle" is available at Amazon.com.