A Steward’s Faith

by Fr. Earl Allyson Valdez

As a teacher of philosophy, much of my scholarly life revolved around teaching Philosophy of Religion, which in turn is about the experience of faith. For many years, I taught about the experience of believing, beginning with the sense of faith, and ending with the more important question: why believe (or not believe)?

Facing this question means also recognizing our own presuppositions and conceptions of belief, and even confronting the possibility of and the experience of unbelief, both of which are mostly connected to our experience of who God is in our lives and how they have become so associated with so much practices and traditions that have become part of our lives. At the end of the day, though, one will always have to confront the question: Would you remain to believe, after seeing the myriad of reasons and motivations to tell ourselves that there is a God?

Perhaps this is something that we can consider this Sunday, for all our readings revolve around the reality of faith, most especially the gospel reading. Our Lord speaks of the faithfulness of the servant, one who waits for his master by performing his duties faithfully, who remains vigilant for the master’s coming, and who guards the master’s property from any thief or deceiver who comes to steal it. And at the base of all that, as the Lord tells us, is that unwavering faith in the God whose faithfulness is greater than those who serve Him.

To the critic of faith, this may come as a foolish disposition, especially when one sees the Christian faith as a servile attitude toward a Master who may or may not exist, who may or may not come. And perhaps those whose unbelief were founded on a feeling of disappointment or hatred toward God for not granting one’s own prayers and desires would ask: Then why not become the master of one’s life? Why be subservient to a God who could deceive you and be unjust? 

Perhaps those questions reveal the contrast between belief and unbelief, the difference between the two being the capacity to trust in Somebody who is greater than us, and who sees the world and our existence differently. This is the kind of trust that believers are called to have and grow, especially when they come to know and encounter a God who has not only created the world and who takes care of everything, but also one who introduces Himself as a loving God who desires friendship and companionship with His most precious creature. This is where believers come from, and this is what sustains their belief. 

Thus, over and above suspicion and doubt, there is faith. Over and above the desire to be complete masters of our lives and destinies, a dream that is totally impossible to fulfill, there is a trust in the God who assures one that in the midst of difficulties and challenges, He joins and suffers with the ones whom He loves dearly, and rejoices in the experience of overcoming those challenges in life. Over and above disappointment and fear, there is a sense of assurance that whatever happens, there is always a God who knows more and loves more than one can imagine. 

Seeing this gap between these two perspectives, perhaps in the end, faith is all about deciding. The philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal puts it more succinctly: faith is essentially a decision to orient oneself to the God that one believes in, one that goes beyond mere logical or rational necessity. Perhaps, at first, one would think the advantages of belief; however, as we grow in our faith, what would eventually remain as our disposition is a deep trust in the love of God and His assurance that our belief in Him, and the life that we live coming from this faith, bears so much meaning. 

In the end, it is faith that produces the reasons for its belief, for it is anchored on a personal relationship that grows deeper as one grows in faith.

So let us ask ourselves again: Why, then, do we believe in God and place the meaning of our lives in Him?