IPLW-Faith, “The Beginning of a New Fact in the World,” pp. 25-41
Up to this point, Msgr. Giussani has been discussing how faith is a method of reason, and not something opposed to reason. The presentation has used a lot of examples that we might find in our every day life, of how we come to know about most of the things in our life through the method of faith, because we come to know them through the testimony of witnesses. From history and culture to more personal information like on how a schoolmate is doing, we often learn about them indirectly, from someone telling us about them. Of course we want to have faith that is reasonable (since it is a method of reason), and not unreasonably, so last time I posted I tried to explain the two criteria for evaluating the lynchpin of the method of faith, namely the witness. First we need to make a judgment as to whether or not the witness knows about the subject that they are talking about. Second we need to judge whether or not the person is trying to deceive us. If a person does know what they are talking about and we have no reason to think that they are trying to deceive us, then not only is it reasonable to believe (put faith in) them as a witness, but it would be UNREASONABLE not to believe them.
In this section, Msgr. Giussani starts to turn the discussion more directly to Christian Faith. “Christ is the total object of our faith” (IPLW-Faith, p. 25). What other reason would we have for walking the Christian path if it were not for Christ? In one of my “stock” funeral homilies, I build on this idea. I start by saying that many of our fore fathers believed in liberty and freedom and democracy, but how many of them would have put up their property and lives just for the concepts, the ideals of liberty and democracy? Rather, it was because of their confidence in George Washington (and others) that they were willing to pursue the ideals, even at the risk of life and limb. People really are not willing to die for doctrines, dogmas and ideals. However, they are willing to make these great sacrifices for another person.
It was not because of some religious philosophy or set of doctrines that caused Peter, James, John, Andrew and all the others to give up their homes and livelihoods to follow Jesus. Rather it was because of their personal relationship with Jesus, it was for HIM, that they were willing to leave everything, because, to quote St. Peter, “Lord, where else could we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Peter, James, John, Andrew and the rest came to know Jesus through their own direct, personal experience. How do we come know Christ?
What is the first characteristic of Christian Faith? We can start by looking at the reading we had just a few weeks ago from St. John’s Gospel, when Andrew and John heard John the Baptist say about Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Andrew and John most likely did not know what he meant by that, but they decided to follow Jesus. Jesus noticed them following Him and asked them, “What are you looking for?” and they asked Him, “Master, where do you live?” Jesus replied, “Come and see.” They then spent a few hours with Jesus, and while not understanding everything He said, they knew that they needed to follow Him, and they immediately invited others to follow Him as well.
The first characteristic of faith in Jesus is a fact. This is really the first characteristic of any kind of knowledge. A fact is “the impact of consciousness with a reality If it’s not reality then its a dream, it isn’t knowledge” (IPLW-Faith, p. 28). Now there are many different kinds of facts. Tonight I had baked potato soup for dinner. It is 28 degrees outside. Faith in Jesus is a particular kind of fact. It is a fact that had the appearance of an encounter. An encounter is when I experience the reality, the presence of another person.
The second characteristic of faith in Jesus, is that this encounter is not with just some ordinary presence. No, it is an exceptional encounter. What makes something exceptional? “Something is exceptional when it corresponds to the deepest needs for which we live and move” (IPLW-Faith, p. 31). An exceptional encounter is when we find a person who corresponds with what we truly desire; those infinite needs we have for justice, truth, happiness and love. The exceptional means the divine, because only the divine is infinite.
The third characteristic of faith in Jesus is that this exceptional encounter produces in us Wonder. Wonder is always a question, even if it is a secret one. It is a question that touches the ultimate fiber of our being.
This question is the fourth characteristic of faith in Jesus, because it takes the form of “Who is this man?” This is the central problem of Christian faith. The answer to this question is the answer of faith. Many of the Pharisees witnessed many of the great works of Jesus, including the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. In the gospels we hear many people asking this question in one form or another, “Who is this man?” Some respond like St. Peter and say, “Yes, You are the Christ! You have the words of eternal life.” Others say no to Jesus, they walk away from Him; maybe just sad, like the Rich Young Man, but others with a hatred that leads them to plot against Him.
When I was just a priest for a few months, and the doctor told me that I had cancer, why did I not curse God, or say that He did not exist? Why did I say (and I explicitly remember saying this to myself, in my anxiety), “All for Jesus”? I said it because I had had an encounter with Jesus Christ in my life. I knew him not merely as a person of history, but a person and friend present in my life. I did not know how things would turn out, but I knew that He was my Lord and Savior. Sure, there were times during my treatment and recovery when my faith may have faltered, but it never failed. And after my illness, and after my father’s death when I was experiencing a great deal of spiritual aridness, instead of giving up with God and looking for happiness in other people and things, I knew that I had to re-encounter Christ Jesus in my life, right here and right now. It was then that I first heard of Communion and Liberation. I did not know what it was all about, but in the life witness of Luca and Daniel (the first two people in the Movement I met), I recognized Jesus there and I knew that I had to follow Him.
This leads to the fifth and final characteristic of faith in Jesus: the Response. In this exceptional encounter I experience my ultimate freedom, freedom to become the person I was made to be. This is what makes it a truly human action. To be reasonable I must say “yes” to the exceptional encounter that inspires wonder and asks the question “who is this man?” If I do not say “yes” I am basically saying that I cannot except what I see with my own eyes, what I hear with my own ears. Those that walked away from Jesus, those that plotted against Him, heard His words and saw His miracles, yet they rejected what they saw and heard. Why? Because of their own preconceptions of what the Messiah was suppose to be like.
I spoke this morning in my homily about preconceptions; the gospel was about Jesus not being accepted in Nazareth. We too can have preconceptions about Jesus. Maybe we have the bad kind of fear of the Lord, expecting that He is a harsh judge just looking to punish us, and that is why we cannot forgive ourselves for the mistakes we have made, and we become depressed or embittered. Or we face illness as a punishment from God, and add to our agony by asking, “Why? What did I do wrong?” Maybe Jesus is just a nice philosopher who taught good things, and we just allot Him an hour on Sunday, out of respect or simply duty. Maybe God is just that “last chance” magic worker that if we say the right kind and number of prayers will give us what we want. When we persist in these preconceptions, then we will say “no” to Jesus when He invites us to “Come and see” where He lives.
