The Apostles were in big trouble and they were very scared. Picturing myself in that position, I’d say my fear would have been running rampant. But these were Christ’s Apostles who had been with him almost constantly. Those final sentences of our Gospel for today clarify that they were scared stiff when they were in trouble and Jesus wasn’t there. Also, we read that they, in spite of all the time they’d spent with Jesus, listening to his teachings and praying with him, still didn’t get it. In a few words, their faith seemed rather shallow when they were not in the presence of Jesus. - - - -

So, what is faith? What blocks or interferes with our faith?

To start with, I believe one of the biggest deterrent’s to our faith is fear. As a matter of fact, there’s an opinion among some scholars that religion began with fear and is always based on fear. I take issue with such and absolute approach, but will concede that fear is a big issue.

Very clearly, Jesus’ disciples were scared to death when the winds kicked up and the waters got rough. They were even more afraid when they thought they were seeing a ghost. It was only when they discovered that it was Jesus, who was walking on the water toward their boat, that their fears vanished. This story makes it very clear that if we are to truly overcome fear, just like the disciples, our relief comes with our trust and faith in Jesus. However, I believe that in order to have true and lasting faith, we need to experience Jesus presence in our lives - all the time.

As I pointed out earlier, Jesus was with the Apostles in person almost constantly and their faith prevailed. However, when they were in trouble at sea, they seemed to be in a rather faithless, fearful quandary. Jesus wasn’t there. When Jesus appeared and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid," it was then, and only then, that fear left the hearts of the disciples. They were no longer frightened; - - confused maybe, but not frightened. - - - -

Now let me move from fear to a more basic block to faith; - - If you haven’t guessed it, I’m talking about our ego.

When we are first born, we are totally innocent, - - and totally faithful. Have you ever thought about how strong the faith of an infant has to be? The faith of an infant is flawless. It has to be. As a little baby, we are completely at the mercy of our parents. We trust completely that they will care for us and our every need will be met. That is the most pure faith one can ever have. - - - -The faith of an infant.

As we grow older, things begin to change. We reach what some have referred to as the "terrible twos," and we get a real strong mind of our own. I’m not so sure that doesn’t begin to happen before two years old. I think there are also the terrible 10’s, - - the terrible 14’s, - - the terrible 18’s, - - - - - - Hmm! - - Even the terrible 70’s, - - - - but I digress. That’s a whole other sermon. - - - -

So, to get back, as we develop past the "terrible twos," further building our independence, we learn from our parents that in order to get anywhere in life we must shift for ourselves. Our self-centeredness, becomes stronger and stronger as we learn to cope with life’s challenges on our own. I’m sure many of you can remember being told such things as, "If you want something done right you will have to do it yourself," or "You can accomplish anything you want, if you just set your mind to it." I certainly remember those statements. I even passed them on to my own children.

However, as important as it is to build a child’s independence through this kind of teaching, it is not necessarily conducive to trust or faith. It is a fine line we walk in training our kids to be independent and faithful to our Lord at the same time. The important thing to remember, which is somewhat contradictory to the idea of independence, is that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God works through people. So, in our independence, if we can trust no one but ourselves, we haven’t got a whisper of a chance at enjoying the faith that God gives us through his grace. To trust only in one’s self is to stand squarely in the way of the grace of God. We stand there with our logical egos, defying any possibilities beyond our own capabilities. - - - -

Now, having touched on two of the enemies of faith, I’ll move to the positive side with what I see as the three basic ingredients of faith. By God’s grace, from infancy, we have faith, but as I mentioned, we sometimes don’t do to well at hanging on to it. So let’s take a look at those three main ingredients necessary for keeping our God given faith.

The first requirement of keeping the faith is persistence. We must be persistent. Faith must grow on us. We need to actually reach the point of taking our faith for granted. Faith is not an overnight affair, but a lifetime of loving companionship and persistent practice.

Second and most important, is that faith requires a community of fellow believers. We can not, and do not, believe in a vacuum. I don’t believe there are really any isolated Christians. - - - - An analogy I read someplace makes this point rather well: "Without the Christian community, we are like seeds drying in the sunlight. In community, our faith flourishes and deepens. It puts down roots and bears much fruit."

And now, the third requirement to keep our faith is to constantly focus on Jesus. This focus is that which helps us overcome our fears and change our outlook on life. It does, indeed, matter who we believe in. Believing in Jesus, we realize and experience the truth of grace and forgiveness; life, death, and resurrection. No matter what, believing in Jesus Christ promises us the miracles of God, now and forever.

To summarize for a moment, faith, then, requires persistence, a community to flourish in, and it must be a community that shares a strong belief and trust in God.

We heard a great example of persistence in our Old Testament reading this morning. If Elisha wasn’t persistent, I don’t know what persistence is. Three times Elijah told him to stay put and each time he persisted in his devotion to his teacher and his quest for a double share of the spirit which the Lord God had given Elijah. He knew he was to lose Elijah, but he did not lose faith, desiring only to follow in Elijah’s foot steps. He wanted to carry on where Elijah left off. - - - -

I wonder how many of us would lose faith when faced with some sort of impending tragedy? I’ve talked with many people who, when something goes wrong in their life, move right to the faithless statement of, "What kind of a God would let this happen?" - - - - Persistence goes out the window.

Now, a very important point: Although all three requirements that I have mentioned are necessary ingredients of true faith, I don’t think the first and third is even possible without the second, which is the need for community. I believe it is next to impossible to be persistent or to keep our eyes and mind focused on Jesus without the existence of a community of faith. Remember, there is no such thing as Christianity in isolation.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians gives us the classic definition of the Church as the Body of Christ. We hear his words at the beginning of every Baptismal Service. Paul says, "There is one body and one Spirit. . . " This statement of Paul’s relates us all to one another in purpose and meaning. We are called together into a community that has one call and one hope, because there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all. . ."

This unity of spirit, this relationship to one another in a single minded community, is the source of the strength we need for the first and third requirements of faith. It’s within this community that we find the "where-with-all" to be persistent. We can hang in there because of the relationships we have developed as a member of the body of Christ - the church.

As a member of Christ’s body, we will also keep our focus, the third requirement of faith. We will keep Jesus present as our Lord and Savior, just as the disciples had him constantly present with them. When he wasn’t around, however, they were quick to lose their focus, build fear and as a consequence, lose faith.

We, on the other hand, can keep Jesus ever present in our lives through our community. Jesus’ constant physical presence with the disciples was necessary for them to overcome their fear and allow their faith to grow. Only Jesus’ constant presence with us, through this community of believers, can overcome the fundamental fear of life that most of us have learned because of our negative and often tragic experiences. And the sad truth is, that we are bound to encounter more such experiences before we die. We cannot forget, however, that these things happen and we turn to Jesus through the Body of Christ, we will hear that which he said to his disciples: "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."

Amen