Belief that changes our Lives - January 22
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 41, 52; PM Psalm 44; Gen. 14:(1-7)8-24; Heb. 8:1-13; John 4:43-54
The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household.
As beautiful and poetic as John’s Gospel can be, the message is relatively simple. If you believe in Jesus Christ, the life-changing gift of eternal life is yours. A few weeks ago, a new friend gave me a copy of a book by Anthony Ray Hinton, The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row. Hinton was wrongly convicted of capital murder here in Jefferson County in 1985. Through the work of Bryan Stevenson (who spoke at Saint Stephen’s around the time of Hinton’s release in 2015) and other lawyers and an unwavering commitment to justice, Hinton’s conviction was overturned by the United States Supreme Court.
The story is painful exposing just how racism and prejudice can corrupt and destroy the very systems we hold up for our safety and well-being, and yet the story is profoundly hopeful as Hinton’s faith, his ability to forgive, and his call to love others literally transforms the lives of those around him. From wardens and prison guards to the child of a leader of the KKK, who is on death row for a racist hate crime, Hinton’s love and commitment to rise above his situation wins over those around him, changing their very lives and their outlook on humanity too.
There is a moment of transformation in the book, when Hinton begins to call people by name, a sort of awakening to believe that how he was raised, to love other people, and to love God is more powerful and transformative than the situation he has found himself in. By believing in the power of love, forgiveness, and hope, his actual life is changed. While his living conditions are abhorrent, his belief changes his ability to live with hope in a 5’ x 7’ solitary room on Death Row.
Hinton’s belief in love, forgiveness, and God transforms his life. It reminds me of one of the most powerful lines in holy scripture in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, “For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1:18).” Belief in God’s grace and the power of love and forgiveness might not make sense in our complicated world to many, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.
In John’s Gospel, this entire story is told to show us the life-changing power of believing in Jesus. In today’s reading, we hear “The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole household” (John 4:53). Our belief in the power of love of Jesus Christ and the grace of God has the same transformative power in our lives. We just have to believe.
My prayer is for John’s Gospel and the life of Anthony Ray Hinton to stir up in us a deeper faith so that we too may see the transformative work of God in our lives.
John+
Questions for Self-Reflection: How has your own faith changed your life? Where do you see this? What could help strengthen your belief?