Faith as obedience

We have begun with revelation, God's unconditional offer of life and love in and through ordinary human situations. To complete the picture, we now turn to the correlative of revelation, faith. Article 5 of Dei Verbum describes faith as an "obedience" by which we entrust our whole selves freely to God. Obedience follows the same idiom of speaking. "Obedire", the Latin word from which "obedience" comes, means "to listen intently". It denotes following the voice which is addressing us. In the case of the God-human relationship, the obedience of faith is our opening of self, acceptance of and commitment to the dabar of God ; that is, the active divine presence offering life and love.

The offer is just what it is, an offer. It cannot be imposed on us and it is not. Neither will God manipulate us into accepting it. We have the freedom to accept or to reject the offer. Thus, Dei Verbum insists that faith is a totally free commitment of self to God. Of our own accord, we receive the offer gratefully or turn our backs on it.

We must not, however, conceive revelation as neutral. The offer which comes from God in and through Jesus Christ has a bias for life and love. The offer, for instance, of love to another person is hardly neutral or indifferent to the possible response it can elicit. Such an offer is seeking for a genuine relationship. Revelation, God's offer of life and love, seeks relationship with those to whom it is extended. Article I already posited this by saying that the purpose of the proclamation of eternal life is fellowship with God and with one another.

Revelation is also not neutral in the sense that it empowers persons and peoples to respond affirmatively to the offer. In the words of the document: "If this faith is to be shown, the grace of God and the interior help of the Holy Spirit must precede and assist, moving the heart and turning it to God..." The same passage asserts that it is the same Holy Spirit who constantly brings faith to completion.

When we take into account the notion of dabar which looms over this whole discussion, we realize that entrusting ourselves to God's word means to follow the direction this voice gives. If dabar is word and deed, commitment is unavoidable. Giving our word is realizing it in life. The voice, as we have seen earlier, had spoken decisively and definitively about life ("zoe") in its fullness which it wills for people. Faith, which is our "yes" to God's word, is a commitment to the kind of life God wants us to experience, a life that is meaningful, delightful and fulfilling.