A Fresh Perspective

In the little book of Habakkuk, the prophet faces a crisis of faith. It was a common belief among Habakkuk’s people that plagues and invasions from other nations were indicative of God’s displeasure or judgment. Undoubtedly, Habakkuk shares this belief to some degree. Most of us share the beliefs we are socialized into through family and culture. The Babylonians are coming. They are a ruthless and violent people who worship might and power. They will sweep down and set their hooks and nets into the land and gather the people of Israel in like a fisherman gathers in his catch, to be used and disposed of at will (1:5–17). The prophet cries to God, “We cry for help but you do not listen. We cry out for deliverance but you do not save. The wicked hem in the righteous so that justice is perverted” (1:2–4). It’s a question of justice. How can it be, cries the prophet, that God would use a more wicked people to punish a less wicked people? Israel wasn’t innocent, but they were not as vi...

On the night of his arrest, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John with him into the garden to pray. Jesus wants their support, but this is also to prepare them for the trial to come. Jesus tells them to stay awake. It was important that they see his struggle and participate in it. But they could not. They went to sleep. Jesus calls Peter out especially, because he had been the most outspoken and boastful, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour?” Then he says, “Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial,” that is, “that you may not be overcome when you enter the trial coming upon you.” “The spirit is willing, but the body is weak,” he says (see Mark 14:32–42). Jesus knows that they need to nurture the spiritual fortitude, strength, courage, and endurance that comes from being discerning of God’s will and awake to God’s presence. When Jesus tells them to stay awake and pray, he is telling them to be reflective and discerning. If they are to ask G...

In the Gospels, Jesus’ sense of vocation—his conviction about what he was called to do—emerged from a clear sense of who he was. Before Jesus began his public ministry he may have been a follower of John the Baptist. He was baptized by John in the desert. In the context of his baptismal experience Jesus was given a vision, a revelation of his true self. The Gospels employ symbolical language to describe Jesus’ spiritual encounter: The heavens opened, the Spirit descended in the appearance of a dove, and the Divine Voice pronounced, “This is my Son whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Immediately after this experience Jesus faced Satan in the desert, that is, Jesus faced the temptations of his calling (temptations he would encounter throughout his ministry). And then, in the power of the Spirit, Jesus began proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God, welcoming all manner of sinners into his fellowship and manifesting healing power. Jesus becomes the Messianic agent of Go...