Believe
What is belief anyway? Is it giving mental assent to an intangible proposition, or is seeing believing? When someone says I believe in Jesus what do they really mean? A pivotal scene in The Matrix illustrates belief in a profound way. In it, we observe Neo along the hero’s journey described by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Neo has accepted the call into the Special World from the Ordinary World. The Special World has new rules and he has a new identity. The Smith is an agent (like Paul’s reference to agents of the “powers of the air” in Ephesians) intending on destroying Neo (Mr Anderson in the Ordinary World) and reminding him of his place. No one has ever fought an agent successfully- the appropriate response is to run. Why does Neo stop, turn, and face the agent? “What is he doing,” asks Trinity. Morpheus answers, “He is beginning to believe.”
But what about believing in Jesus? Some say that their faith is a private matter, that no one can judge what is in their heart. First of all, this is far too individualistic for the narrative of scripture. Secondly, Jesus does not need to recruit all of His divine powers to determine who believes and who does not. He expressly states in Matthew 25 that what they do or do not do gives evidence of their belief, their heart, and their true identity. James addresses this in his letter:
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
The demons believe, we say we believe- what is the difference? We are not saved by our doings, but we are saved for doings. We, who answer the call of Jesus, accept His identity, and ,“in Him”, we participate in bringing His Kingdom. People will be able to see our belief as our actions conform to Imago Dei. It will look different than the values and power structure of this Ordinary World. They will ask, “what is he doing?” The Teacher will answer them, “he is beginning to believe.”
When the disciples of John wanted to know if Jesus was the One, how did He answer? It was not with a systematic apologetic. In Matthew 11, Jesus answered them, “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” Jesus tells a story of how He will make a distinction between those who believe and those who do not:
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.
In Genesis, God blesses Adam and Eve to be fruitful and “fill the earth” with blessing. When they decided to wield good and evil for themselves, they abdicated the throne God had given them, and the blessing. In the land of exile, they “filled the earth with violence (Genesis 6).” Violence occurs when we trample over another to preserve ourselves. The powers of this age are characterized as Mammon- power, position, possessions, and privilege. Imago Dei gives these away and, in so doing, blesses others. Those who cling to such things necessarily invoke violence to do so. The Kingdom of Jesus is a kingdom of self-sacrificing love, a cross, love for humanity. The identity of Christ, Imago Dei, is described in Philippians 4 as giving up power for the benefit of others. By this, restoration and reconciliation happen. This is our identity “in Christ.” In Matthew 18, the religious powers of the day are the targets of the woes Jesus proclaims. They burden people with religion and neglect faith, mercy, and justice. They love long prayers, displays of their piety, but lack the substantive things of a believer. Their use of violence gives testament to what they really believe. To believe in Jesus is to let go of all we grasp in this Ordinary World in order to embrace Him in all we see. Belief in Jesus looks like something.
The powers of this age roll along on the track of violence, crushing others to preserve ego-charged Mammon. It seems inevitable. The agents of death are strong and have a long history of suppression. Yet Jesus tells us the coming of the Kingdom is inevitable and we are participants in bringing it. At some point, we must believe- stop, turn, and face the agents of the powers of the air. We must believe who Jesus says we are. We must begin to do the things Jesus did, the distinctive things that separate us from those of the Ordinary World. We are no longer slaves to death, disease, violence, self-preservation, and meaningless. Like Neo in this scene, the agents seek to choke the hope from us. Identifying with Jesus and His Kingdom is our liberation. Jesus has seated us with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2). We are participants in His Special World. Our doings testify to this belief.
The turning point is when we refuse the drumming of those who have us march to the inevitable. It is not so. The Smith heard inevitability on the wheels of the train coming to put an end to this tiresome resistance. Neo refused to have the agent define him. Neo saw another inevitability. An inevitable Truth that we have. This is not how it ends.
“Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right (Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream, ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’).” When we begin to do right, the Ordinary World will ask, “what is he doing”? Jesus will answer, “he is beginning to believe.”
The Gospel of Matthew is a quick, but dense read. Jesus shapes our identity in His doings and His words. Forgiveness, service, humility, meekness, care for the hurting and poor regardless of nationality or ethnic devision, caring for the sick, and welcoming the rejected. The widows, strangers, and fatherless were economic drains if they are viewed from the vantagepoint of the agents of Mammon. But theses are among the welcomed and blessed ones of Jesus. Bless those that curse you. Turn the other cheek. Freely give. Love your neighbor as yourself. Let your religion be a privater matter. Let the love that comes from Christ shine brightly from a community of people who have embraced the Kingdom and are “starting to believe.”
Lastly, like Neo, we must resist the oppressive hold that the agents of death have on us. This video of Josh Garrels’ song “Resistance” encapsulates the message beautifully and artfully. Be free. Resist oppression from within and without. As Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew: “Thy Kingdom come/ Thy will be done/ On earth as in heaven.” Amen.
