Faith: The Spiritual Carpenter

By Father Yohanes Akoit

For certain reasons, faith can be compared to a carpenter. Both share a similar role as a causal principle. A carpenter represents this principle because he causes tables or chairs to come into existence. Likewise, faith is a form of causality. It enables the uprooting of a tree and its planting in the sea (Luke 17:5-10). This comparison makes sense because tables and chairs cannot appear by themselves; they require the initiating action of the carpenter. Jesus also teaches His disciples the same lesson: to uproot the tree and plant it in the sea, they must have faith in God. Just as a carpenter initiates the process of creation, the disciples too require the initiating force of faith to carry out what seems impossible.

Concretely, we can express it this way: the role of a carpenter is to actualize the potentiality of nature into tangible objects, such as tables or chairs. He cuts the tree, joins the wood, shapes it into a specific form, finishes the work, and it becomes a real table. This small process shows us that the table comes into existence because the carpenter fulfills his role. The carpenter is the initiating force. Nature provides materials like wood, tools, and models to follow in crafting the tables. But all these elements remain in the category of potentiality. Raw materials. They require a causal agent to move and shape them into a defined form. The carpenter is the one who makes something happen. His actions are the efficient cause that enables something to exist or change.

In comparison, faith can be understood in the same way. It is the cause of action that transforms possibility into actualization. This truth is drawn from the teachings of the Church: that God is with us. With His guiding presence, we enter the world to bear fruit, and in response, our main duty is to translate this obligation of faith into a mission. That mission must be specific to our personal choice, which, when made in faith, is justified as the will of God. Through this relationship, personal choice becomes a channel of grace and joy. Truly, this is a great task.

Take the life of marriage, for example. Christian couples always stand in a state of gratitude. They believe the love they share comes from God. But to begin family life, they need deeper faith to affirm that their decision truly reflects God’s will. They believe God provides them with a partner, mutual love, jobs and property to sustain life, religion to bind and unite their love eternally, and the awareness to accept its consequences. Yet all these elements are fragmentary and disconnected. Raw material. They need an initiating force, like the hand of the carpenter, to unite fragmented elements into a single commitment. That initiating force is known as faith.

The disciples of Jesus recognized their situation - a great task and a heavy cross to bear. That is why they asked Jesus to increase their faith (Luke 17:5-10). And as we all know, they succeeded in their mission. Learning from their experience, we too recognize our own situation. We have our tasks and many crosses to carry; burdens that weigh heavily, shaped by tendencies, weak-nesses, past wounds, desperation, and ego. Yet alongside these, we also hold love, potential, and forgiveness. All of it remains fragmented, like raw material waiting to be formed. Still, in the midst of it all, we are aware that Jesus is with us. With that awareness, we echo the petition of the Apostles, asking God to increase our faith. Through this same faith, we strive to walk in their footsteps and share in their mission. And by that faith, all the scattered pieces of our lives are gathered and transformed into resources for life. We believe that faith in Jesus will actualize our potentiality. Faith will transform our fragmented resources into blessings for life.

Father Yohanes Akoit is pastor of St. Julian and St. Anthony Catholic churches in Kentucky.