The question of faith is very important in both the Hebrew and Christian traditions. Both religions distinguish two main types of it – to believe in God, in His existence, and to believe God, to entrust, to trust Him,” writes Father Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, a biblical scholar and publicist, head of the Polish section of Vatican Radio and Vatican News service, in a commentary for the Heschel Center of the Catholic University of Lublin on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 7.
The verb pisteuo (πιστεύω, believe) is one of the most important words in the Gospel according to St. John, a passage of which we read this Sunday. It occurs there about 100 times. The same word is also one of the most important words in the Old Testament.
The question of faith is very important in both the Hebrew and Christian traditions. Both religions distinguish two main types of faith: to believe in God, in His existence, and to believe God—to entrust, to trust in Him. This is confirmed by the Greek use of the word pisteuo, which can mean to believe in the existence of God but also believe God, that is, trust Him.
It is worth adding that faith in Hebrew (emunah, אֱמוּנָה) also refers to both belief in God and trust in God. The word Amen, which we often say, comes from the same Hebrew root. It is also an expression of trusting God because we say in this way, “I believe, let it be so,” according to God’s will.
In the Hebrew tradition, there is no such thing as a lack of belief in the existence of the Lord God. It is something so obvious that it is not discussed at all. In the Christian tradition, because of the threat posed by totalitarianism and ideologies that deny the existence of God, theological and scientific arguments to help discover God’s presence have an important place.
The evangelists recorded only a few words of the Risen Jesus. All the more important is His message after the Resurrection, which emphasizes precisely faith. Moreover, in St. John’s Gospel, in the beginning, in the second chapter, Jesus performs his first miracle in Cana to help the disciples believe in him. The same task is required after his Resurrection — to make them believe.
This Gospel passage read on Divine Mercy Sunday (John 20:19-31) can be linked to the image “Jesus, I trust in you!” The question of faith is still one of the most important topics in human life. Jesus appearing to St. Sr. Faustina asked for just such a signature: “Jesus, I trust in You!” This shows that He desires not only faith in His existence but, above all, trust in Him.
About the Author:
Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik – doctor in Oriental Studies from the University of Oxford and PhD in Biblical Studies and Archaeology from the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem. Former spokesman for the Polish Bishops’ Conference (2015-2020) and then director of the Office of Foreign Communications of the Episcopate. Since October 2022, deputy director of the Abraham J. Heschel Center for Catholic-Jewish Relations at the Catholic University of Lublin, and since July 2023, head of the Polish section of Vatican Radio and Vatican News service.
