The Mystery of Faith

By Rick Hoover

Jesus seemed to know immediately if people had great faith or none at all. But what did he actually see? Is faith invisible and hidden? Or are there clues that prove when faith is real? And can we see them like Jesus did?

"If you are looking for a stash of good evidence about living a life of faith, 'detective' Hoover provides it in this book. Rooted deeply in Scripture, he connects it with his own thoughts and life experiences, making a compelling case for faith. You will be helped by what you read." -- Dr. Steve Harper, Emeritus Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, Florida-Dunnam Campus, Orlando.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pelican Wings
• Release date: Mar 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311623102

Rick Hoover

I'm a retired deacon in the Episcopal Church. I served at a parish in central Florida. I've worked in radio, television and several jobs that included public relation efforts. As a Christian, I have discovered one of the things I enjoy most is spending time in a prayer closet with Jesus, learning to be still so He has space to speak. I shared about my first month as a Smashword author at my blog:https://deaconrick.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/editing-the-author/

Book preview

If you are looking for a stash of good evidence about living a life of faith, detective Hoover provides it in this book. Rooted deeply in Scripture, he connects it with his own thoughts and life experiences, making a compelling case for faith. You will be helped by what you read.

Dr. Steve Harper, Emeritus Professor of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, Florida-Dunnam Campus, Orlando.

In this clear, readable, and winsome book, Rick Hoover leads us on an engaging exploration of the central dynamic of our Christian walk: faith. Rick’s curiosity, perceptiveness, and humor mark a work that provides valuable pastoral insight. Readers of this book will gain both strength and wisdom on their spiritual journey.

Dr. Rickey Cotton, Professor of English, Southeastern University, Lakeland, FL

THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

What Jesus Saw

by

Rick Hoover

Copyright © 2014 by Rick Hoover

Smashwords Edition

License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook! If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient at Smashwords.com. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible™, a Public Domain translation available at worldenglishbible.org.

CONTENTS

Opening the Case: What Did Jesus See?

Chapter 1: The Curious Trinity

Chapter 2: We Have Heard of Your Faith

Chapter 3: Your Faith Has Made You Well

Chapter 4: According To Your Faith

Chapter 5: Great Is Your Faith!

Chapter 6 Seeing Their Faith

Chapter 7: Your Faith Has Saved You

Chapter 8: Jesus Marveled

Chapter 9: You of Little Faith

Chapter 10: Take the Step

Chapter 11: The Two Step Test

Chapter 12: Jesus Saw It. Can We?

Chapter 13: Will He Find Faith On the Earth?

Closing the Case

About the Author

DEDICATION

To my mom, Elva Johnson Hoover, for her detective work proofreading the manuscript for typos. She has also taught me about paying attention to details in the Bible.

R.H. , Second Week of Lent, 2014

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You see, beloved brother, the cause of the lack of love of God is lack of faith, and lack of faith is due to lack of conviction, which in turn is due to negligence in seeking clear and true knowledge and an indifference to spiritual enlightenment. In a word, not to believe is not to love, and not to be convinced is not to believe.

--The Pilgrim Continues His Way

OPENING THE CASE:

WHAT DID JESUS SEE?

The idea of faith has been a mystery to me. So I decided to tackle the subject like a detective story. I am pulling out my magnifying glass and opening the case files!

The main puzzle for me is all those times in the Bible where Jesus would exclaim, You have great faith! Other times he said things like, Your faith has made you well, or Your faith has saved you. What did he see?

I felt like Dr. Watson, the friend of Sherlock Holmes. Watson would go on cases with Sherlock and remain befuddled while the great detective would take one look and know exactly what was going on. Sherlock would rebuke his friend, saying, You see but you do not observe.

But our situation is even more complicated than that.

I love mystery stories where the detective never even visits the scene of the crime. He depends solely on the descriptions provided by other witnesses. Then he interprets the facts, connects the dots, and solves the case. Nero Wolfe was famous for staying at home with his orchids while his assistant, Archie Goodwin, did all the leg work and reported back to him. In the 21st century, all of us are in Nero Wolfe’s position. All we have are the eyewitness reports of the disciples and Scripture. Could I solve this mystery of faith at second-hand, with only such case files?

Let’s say that the disciples of Jesus were a bunch of Archies or Dr. Watsons. I believe they were giving us accurate descriptions of the ministry of Jesus but they did not completely understand all that they saw. I read their stories and ask myself, Is there enough here to understand what Jesus could see when he talked about someone having 'faith'?

Jesus clearly expected that these witnesses would share their stories accurately and clearly enough that we could rely on them.

So I will.

I have concluded that Paul provides some significant help for any detective taking up this case. He was not present to hear Jesus making those statements about faith. But the brilliant rabbi was able to understand the things that eluded the fishermen disciples who were the actual eyewitnesses. His insights provided a key I was able to use to begin to unlock this mystery.

It seems strange that we could see something and still not understand what we are seeing. But I have enjoyed many jokes that are based on this fact. One is about two musicians walking down the street and passing a big church. As they go by, way up at the top of the church steeple the old church bell breaks loose and crashes to the ground behind them with a clang.

What was that!? one musician shouts, badly startled.

His friend replies, F-sharp.

Maybe I need to explain that joke? But let me tell another one first. This was actually a cartoon showing a couple sitting in church singing from the hymnal. They're also whispering to each other. "What's with this place? They only sing two songs! Joy to the World and Jesus Christ is Risen Today. The friend replies, Maybe I would show up more than twice a year if there was more variety...."

I love jokes like these where the gag is about missing the point. I get to feel smart if I get the joke without an explanation. It is so easy for us to be distracted or too narrowly focused in our situation. When a bell hits the ground would your first question be about what the musical note is? Would you assume you knew all about a church if you only showed up at Christmas and Easter? Is it really possible that we can miss the point so easily? (I'll raise my hand here. Just call me Dr. Watson.)

There is one further consideration that is also well-illustrated in a joke.

Two snowmen are standing in a raging blizzard leaving them with zero visibility. One snowman suddenly becomes alert. There’s something out there! he cries.

His companion asks, What is it?

The first snowman replies, "I don’t know. But it smells like carrots!"

I would imagine it’s hard for a snowman to smell anything BUT carrots, given the usual design features of his face.

I am in a similar spot. I am so accustomed to experiencing life through my own natural senses and perceptions, I may not stop to think there could be other channels of information I should explore.

I think this is why I struggled to understand the idea of faith. I don’t know why else I had such a hard time grasping what people in the Bible were talking about when the subject came up. I had an idea what the facts should be. That made me miss what the facts really were. And I overlooked other significant clues that would have pointed me toward a realization of a reality invisible to my natural senses.

Jesus often commented on the faith of his followers. He often seemed to agree they did have some, or something, that he recognized as faith. He just called it weak. He seems to say you don't really need all that much to be able to see amazing results, like moving mountains.

I noticed that sometimes Jesus said that a person's faith was weak and at other times he said it was little. I always assumed weak faith was the same as little faith. Maybe there is actually a difference?

I grew up in church and I've heard plenty of talk about faith. Or, at least, I would hear the word used a lot. I don't think I used the word