Let’s have a show of hands: everyone who believes that there is a Constitution of the United States raise your hand. OK, good. Now everyone who believes in the Constitution of the United States raise your hand. Some of you might be thinking, “Wait. Didn’t he just ask us to do that?” Well, no. There’s a difference between “belief that” and “belief in.”
“Belief in” is an attitude toward a person or an institution, a sentiment or posture of trust, while “belief that” is just an attitude with regard to a proposition, one’s intellectual assent to its validity. One may believe that there is a Constitution establishing the government of the United States while not actually believing in the institutions and processes of governance that it creates and enshrines. That may be, perhaps, the source of some of our current social and political problems, but that’s another discussion for another time. With regard to our Christian faith, however, the intersection of these two different kinds of belief – “belief that” versus “belief in” – is at the heart of today’s lesson from the Gospel according to John.
What is Lent all about?
There’s a story about a pastor giving a children’s sermon. He decides to use a story about forest animals as his starting point, so he gathers the kids around him and begins by asking them a question. He says, “I’m going to describe someone to you and I want you to tell me who it is. This person prepares for winter by gathering nuts and hiding them in a safe place, like inside a hollow tree. Who might that be?” The kids all have a puzzled look on their faces and no one answers. So, the preacher continues, “Well, this person is kind of short. He has whiskers and a bushy tail, and he scampers along branches jumping from tree to tree.” More puzzled looks until, finally, Johnnie raises his hand. The preacher breathes a sigh of relief, and calls on Johnnie, who says, “I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus, but that sure sounds an awful lot like a squirrel to me.”
“Put things in order, … agree with one another, live in peace.”
Come Holy Spirit, Comforter, Spirit of Truth,
