Faith as a Challenge

As current crises show, belief in God is not and end of itself, but an invitation - a challenge - to improve ourselves and empathize with the suffering of others.

By Mark McDermott

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            The fifth Sunday of Lent marks a turn towards the “home stretch” of the season: already the tone of the readings shifts towards forgiveness and salvation from the starker imagery of repentance earlier on. Lent itself may even start to settle into a comfortable routine.

Routine can be very constructive; indeed, one of the intentions of “Lenten” practices is not that they remain confined to this season but persist in our relationship with our faith and with God. However, a hidden pitfall of faith – and perhaps something that makes persisting in the constructive habits adopted during Lent difficult – is the expectation that faith will always serve as an article of spiritual comfort, an emotional pillow in an otherwise hard and unforgiving world. While the Gospel does offer this, our faith, as with any loving relationship, does not consist of a single emotional outcome.

            Jesus, the example of pure love God sent to us, shows what perfect faith looks like. His faith – that is, his trust in God’s will – subjects Jesus, the human, to incredible pain. This season, we are, of course, most cognizant of Jesus’s suffering in the Pascal Mystery. But Jesus’s “faith” – or, perhaps, perfect communion with the will of the Father – brought him discomfort throughout his life. The Gospels mention that Jesus was “moved with pity” for the people who approached him and pleaded for help? In another instance, Jesus weeps for the death of his friend Lazarus upon meeting with his mourning family. Sharing in God’s love for all people, Jesus is frustrated and disappointed by the rich young man who went “away sad, for he had many possessions.” Still other passages mention that, at times, Jesus steps away from the crowds to pray on his own – perhaps, one might imagine, to replenish and renew himself after being surrounded by so much suffering.

            One of the purposes of Lenten sacrifice is not just to remind us of the pain of sin, or what we can do without. Surely, these are worthy goals. But prayer, almsgiving, and abstinence can also remind us that faith and empathy can be uncomfortable. Take the recent earthquakes in Myanmar. Quickly, the headlines have turned elsewhere, focused on issues that address everyday life for many Americans. But if we remain connected to God, the Father of all our brothers and sisters around the world, are our hearts not “moved with pity” for those who have lost their homes, livelihoods, and loved ones from these disasters?

            With this in mind, CRS is once again at the vanguard of relief efforts for the earthquake in Southeast Asia. Please consider offering your support through this link:

Support Myanmar and Thailand Today

Communion in faith is more than the comfort and reassurance it provides for our own failings and doubts. It is also about sharing in the struggles of the human family, so that together we may all share in the blessings God has prepared for us. St. Paul evokes the image of an athlete when describing his faith to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Like an athlete in training, faith is not always comfortable, but it is in that challenge that faith helps us to grow to serve to the extent God intended for each of us.