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February 20, 2005
Faith, Hope, and Charity
One of the more amazing stories from the Second World War is from the defence of Malta. This was a rather desperate situation, and there are plenty of accounts of the heroism of the people, of the sailors who managed to get supplies through to the island, and of the garrison who defended it. Due to the complete incompetence of the civil service and the lack of foresight on the part of the politicians, Malta's air defences were woefully under-strength at the outbreak of the war, and, by the end of 1940, the fighter defences were down to just three Gloster Gladiator fighters.
These three out of date and hopelessly slow fighter planes managed to give a very good account of themselves in battle, being flown by RAF officers whose skill must have been stretched to the limit by the Gladiator's upper high-mounted wing, paltry armament, and slow airspeed when pitched into battle against the faster Aeromacchi and other modern aircraft operated by the Italian Regio Aeronautica.
What caught my imagination as a child was the names these three puny aircraft bore as they were thrown into frontline action way beyond their capability. They were "Faith", "Hope", and "Charity", and in a peculiar twist, it was Charity that survived the longest, holding out until, finally, a squadron of Hurricanes could be flown in to Malta and then enhanced with more, and eventually even Spitfires. As most will recognise, the names come from St Paul's first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 13, which famously begins "Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." Ironic, too, that the word, which has now been debased to mean "free handouts" actually meant, in the days of King James 1, "love". And that in the sense of the Greek word "philos" and not, as the word again seems to have been debased, to mean "eros".
As a model for Christian behaviour, St Paul sets us quite a task with his "Faith, hope, and charity," as all three are necessary essentials in our lives and in our worship. Having faith and hope but without the essential ingredient of charity (love) we are incomplete as Christians, because it is Charity that provides the glue and the fuel for the other two. Faith without love is an empty shell, hope without love is a chimera, but most importantly it is love for God which is needed, hence the use of the Greek "philos" which is a selfless form having an "other worldly" connotation. It is a love based on belief that it is returned, not on the physical proof, a love which gives all without expectation of reward, the sort of love that leads men to offer their lives to save someone else's, even a stranger's. It does not require a perfect understanding or even a depth of knowledge, it is independent of these, yet it is THE essential in the Christian life.
Watching a documentary on the making of the Tolkien epic, "Lord of the Rings" the point was made several times over that the book and its epic tale draws heavily on the role models we have in history. Aragorn, the unwilling heir to the throne of Gondor, has an historical counterpart in William Wallace the Scots "Braveheart" and in Queen Elizabeth 1 in her willingness to sacrifice her own desires and needs in order to serve her people. Gandalf has the counterparts of Cecil, adviser to Queen Elizabeth 1 and Benjamin Franklin, all wise advisers and lacking in personal ambition. It is this combination of leadership, service, and love for those who serve under them which sets apart the great leaders. Perhaps, too, here lies the clue to the phenomenal success of the movies - they offer people the vision of a world in which good can triumph over evil, where leaders do behave with honesty, openess, and with the best interests of their people at heart. Faith, Hope, and Charity underpin the entire story. But there is another and equally important thread in this - that of the concept of individuals all being important but their shared goal is achievable only when every individual fulfills his or her own part as part of the whole team. Nowhere is this more evident than in the complex relationship between Frodo, Samwise, and Smeegel-Gollem.
As St Paul tells us, charity is forgiving, patient, without envy, without pride or vainglory, not easily provoked or angry, but filled with hope and endurance. How aptly named those little aircraft were! Yet, the key to the message Paul is trying to convey, and it is as true now as it ever was, is summed up in the closing lines of the reading -
"For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
Being human, being limited to our perception of the world and the universe, we "see through the glass darkly" for now, but we live with the hope that all will become clear when once we cross that border between this life and the next. Until then we will need to ensure that we develop and nurture all three, never forgetting that Charity is the greatest of them all.
Posted by The Gray Monk at February 20, 2005 10:20 AM