Thanksgiving to Advent:

An Honest Faith handed down from your Grandmother Lois

(Second Timothy 1:5)

It was easy to be grateful on Thanksgiving Day. The meal itself was something of a miracle. When our oven malfunctioned it seemed all was lost. But family kicked in and managed to set table for all twenty-one of us—our whole family.

It so happens, we all share “an honest faith handed down.”  For each one, questions can’t help but come: “Is it really true?”  Maybe I believe because my parents and my parents’ parents believed? Or, maybe if I were born in Iran, for example, I would simply believe what Iranians believe? All fair and honest questions. What turns “faith handed down” into my very own “honest faith”?

Maybe the first thing to say about “honest faith” is that it welcomes such questions—otherwise it would not be honest faith. That’s the way with Jesus. He’s always open to our questions. Take Thomas’ question for example (Jn 14): Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you …and you know where I am going.” Thomas says to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus is not offended by Thomas’ question. He welcomes it. Without it, we would not have Jesus' answer: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life...”

Our faith isn’t about vague religious or philosophical thoughts; but rather, a belief that Christmas and Easter are really so. Which gets me to Advent when we celebrate the beginning of the Big Story that envelopes all our little stories—like the little story of our miracle Thanksgiving Dinner, for example. Our Christian Calendar celebrates this Big Gospel Story that begins before the beginning and ends without end.

During the reception of one of those Winter’s weddings, a couple of Stanford smart young men—cousins, I believe; engaged me in interesting conversation concerning the various paths one takes up the mountain. “It’s not the path that matters,” they argued, “but the mountain.” I asked, “What path have you chosen?” They explained how they were pondering their path. I have a hunch they are still pondering. Honest Faith chooses its path. I can’t imagine a better path than that one path that celebrates Christmas and Easter.