Trust in God in Whom Few Now Believe

When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’ He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.’   (Matthew 8: 1-4)

This Gospel passage is encouraging us to reflect on the whole notion of trust. This reflection is important especially at a time when trust is in short supply in the world around us. This reflection is important for a society that has replaced trust with whole networks of security systems. The notion of trust is important for our times because constant vigilance has sapped our energies from more productive endeavors. When trust is low, we tend to isolate ourselves from other people, putting up higher and higher walls and thicker and thicker barriers. The more we pursue security in in these ways, the less peace we enjoy and consequently the love we most desire becomes more and more evasive.

In his first epistle St. John reminded us: “God is love and whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him” (1 Jn. 4:16). In order to abide in love, we must trust the Beloved. Unfortunately, many people have abandoned their biblical roots. Secular education has caused them to forget that they were created in the image and likeness of God. Consequently, they have recreated God in their image. Thus, the lack of trust threatens to erode our relationship with God. It is safe to assume that each and every one of us has felt abandoned or ignored at some time in our lives. Having been hurt, we set up defenses so as never to be hurt again. Not desiring to remain in darkness and futility, we push on, seeking meaningfulness, happiness and light. The prophet Isaiah wrote: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; and for those living in the land of the shadow of death, light has shined” (Is. 9:2).

Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Modern society has wagered that there is no God and that man is the master of his own destiny. Modern man, in his infinite wisdom, has rejected Pascal’s wager* (see footnote). By so doing, man has limited his scope of existence to the here and now, rejecting an infinity of an infinitely happy life. By limiting our vision to the earth, we inhibit our ability to mount the high places. Acknowledging our spiritual handicaps, may the Lord stretch out His hand and make us whole,


Quote from Hind's Feet on High, by Hannah Hurnard

In the place where just a little while before all had been fear and despair were the Shepherd and Much-Afraid, sitting on the rocks at the foot of the precipice, laughing together as though at the greatest joke in the world.

"Come now, little jellyfish," said the Shepherd, "do you believe that I can change you into a mountain goat and get you to the top of the precipice?"

"Yes," replied Much-Afraid.

"Will you let me do it?"

"I don't think I mind so very much if you do; only have your will and way in me, Shepherd. Nothing else matters."

--Father Jerome Machar, OSCO

* (Pascal's Wager) If there is a God, He is infinitely incomprehensible, since, having neither parts nor limits, He has no affinity to us. We are then incapable of knowing either what He is or if He is....
..."God is, or He is not." But to which side shall we incline? Reason can decide nothing here. There is an infinite chaos which separated us. A game is being played at the extremity of this infinite distance where heads or tails will turn up. What will you wager? According to reason, you can do neither the one thing nor the other; according to reason, you can defend neither of the propositions.

Do not, then, reprove for error those who have made a choice; for you know nothing about it. "No, but I blame them for having made, not this choice, but a choice; for again both he who chooses heads and he who chooses tails are equally at fault, they are both in the wrong. The true course is not to wager at all."

Yes; but you must wager. It is not optional. You are embarked. Which will you choose then? Let us see. Since you must choose, let us see which interests you least. You have two things to lose, the true and the good; and two things to stake, your reason and your will, your knowledge and your happiness; and your nature has two things to shun, error and misery. Your reason is no more shocked in choosing one rather than the other, since you must of necessity choose. This is one point settled. But your happiness? Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.

"That is very fine. Yes, I must wager; but I may perhaps wager too much." Let us see. Since there is an equal risk of gain and of loss, if you had only to gain two lives, instead of one, you might still wager. But if there were three lives to gain, you would have to play (since you are under the necessity of playing), and you would be imprudent, when you are forced to play, not to chance your life to gain three at a game where there is an equal risk of loss and gain. But there is an eternity of life and happiness. And this being so, if there were an infinity of chances, of which one only would be for you, you would still be right in wagering one to win two, and you would act stupidly, being obliged to play, by refusing to stake one life against three at a game in which out of an infinity of chances there is one for you, if there were an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain. But there is here an infinity of an infinitely happy life to gain, a chance of gain against a finite number of chances of loss, and what you stake is finite