Faith Without
âFor as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.â
James 2:26
Faith without
Faith within
Faith to fail
Faith to win
Faith alone
Cannot prove
Faith with Works
Makes mountains move
Whisper recited the words with the rest of her class. They recited the mantra every morning. When no lessons were in session, they logged onto the holo station in order to chant together. Then they were free to go about their day. But the mantra. The mantra was everything.
Despite her name, Whisper did not like being quiet. She often recited the mantra louder than anyone else. Her friends, Hush and Stillness, always made faces at her. Reciting the mantra loudly wasnât necessarily a crime, but it was frowned upon. The goal was to recite it with a silent expression. Letting the words drip out of you. Letting the mantra drill its way into the center of your being. The mantra was meant to become your soul.
The students took their seats and sat quietly, waiting for the instructor to begin. She was always deliberately slow. It would eventually lead to a student fidgeting. And fidgeting was not in keeping with the mantra. If she caught you twisting in your seat, you would have to recite the mantra again, this time alone in front of the whole class. If you got the words wrong, you had to do it again. If you used the wrong intonation, you had to start over. The mantra must be spoken perfectly. Especially when you were reciting alone.
The instructor waited, staring like an eagle at the classroomâs posture. She hardly made a class go by without catching someone. The longer she waited the higher her chances were. With a class of 7 year olds, the chances of someone moving at least a bit were quite high already. Throw in the stress of public embarrassment and your body started to do things involuntarily.
Finally, a boy in the back named Innocence slightly shifted his feet. The instructor caught the motion in an instant.
âInnocence! Repeat the mantra.â She somehow managed to speak lightly, but full of rage.
Faith without
Faith within
He began to speak.
âNo, it is Faith with-OUT, not Faith WITH-out,â she said, âThe tone should move up as you say out, again.â
Faith without
Faith within
Faith to fail
Faith to win
Faith alone
Cannot prove
Faith with Works
Makes mountains move
âAh, well done. Only one repeat. Excellently done. Work on that fidgeting Innocence.â
âYes maâam.â He responded, then quickly took his seat.
âNow, class, we have a big weekend. It is the last weekend of the month, which means it is the Faith with Works celebration. We have three friends who turned 8 this month. I recommend you go and support them. Comfort, Gentleness and Whisper, I hope you are ready. It is my understanding, Whisper, that you have never manifested your Faith before?â
Whisper looked down at the floor. âNo Maâam, I havenât.â
âWhy is that?â
Whisper hesitated, then spat out the answer she had rehearsed in her mind. âI wanted the first time to be special. I wanted to save it for my mandatory manifestation.â
âAh, somewhat unusual, but not unheard of.â the instructor said. âVery good. Keep the mantra in your heart is my advice. Itâll ease the nerves.â
Whisper nodded as a pit formed in her stomach. She had lied. Lying was prohibited as well. But she dare not reveal the truth.
***
Whisper waited nervously at home for the Faith with Works celebration that would be taking place in a few short hours. She had finished her morning recitation and was poking around at the celebration lunch her father had prepared to mark the occasion.
âHow are you feeling?â Her father asked her at the kitchen table. Of course he knew how she felt. Everyone knew. But she wasnât allowed to say the real reason. That would show a lack of faith. Words were works. You couldnât let your works display a lack of faith. Especially when it was the day of the celebration. Faith was needed that day more than any other.
âYou know what I am feeling.â Whisper said. âI do not wish to speak my feelings. I do not want to show a lack of faith.â They had discovered ways to half reveal what they were feeling, without truly giving their feelings life, and therefore power.
âYou just need to believe. Keep the mantra in your heart. I understand how you must be feeling. But you are your own person. You are not anyone else but you. Your faith is your own. Your works are your own. Let your works manifest your faith.â He said the words, though they sounded empty inside. He attempted to smile at her.
âI will try.â she said honestly, attempting to smile back.
They finished their meal and Whisper went to go change her clothing. Those who were manifesting must only wear white. She chose her finest white dress and shoes. Her father placed a bow in her hair. Though she had never manifested before, she had seen the celebration every month since she could remember. There were those who manifested frequently. Whisper felt that they made a show out of the whole thing. The thought of manifesting more than you had to made no sense to her. There were those who manifested frequently enough, maybe once a year on the anniversary of their mandatory manifestation. Then there were others who manifested once, then never did so again.
Attendance was mandatory, not attending was not in keeping with the mantra.
The trail to the celebration was a familiar one. They walked along the desolate rocks that were the world they lived in. Very little vegetation existed. What they did grow was very carefully watched and tended to. Whisper held her fatherâs hand tightly as she walked. He held hers even tighter. She looked up and saw a single tear in his eye. When he saw her looking he wiped it away quickly.
They reached the edge of a crowd. Normally they stood as far back as possible without displaying a lack of faith. To stand at the very edge was not in keeping with the mantra. But standing up close to those manifesting. Well, they hadnât done that since Whisperâs motherâŚ
She pushed the thought away. It had been 2 years, but she thought of that moment constantly. Replaying it in her mind. A yearning that things had been different ached inside of her.
âAh Wish, your daughter is manifesting, correct?â A man in a white robe said as he approached them from within the crowd. âCome with me, Iâll lead you to your place of honor.â
They followed the man through the crowd until they were only a few yards away from a massive cliff edge. A measly barrier ran along the edge of the cliff except for in one spot where a small platform stood. The platform stretched out over the cliff edge, teetering on the brink of a bottomless void. Fog swirled about the vast endless space, twisting into shapes that for a second resembled something that looked familiar, but that you couldnât quite put your finger on.
Whisper followed her father to a small section that was reserved for mandatory manifestors. They stood, waiting for the celebration to begin.
After some time, an older man sporting a white beard walked to the wooden platform that stood above the void. His voice echoed across the gathering as he spoke.
âWelcome once again my brothers and sisters to our Faith with Works celebration. We are so blessed to have you here. We have 12 mandatory manifestations that will be occurring tonight. Please show them your support, your faith, your works, by manifesting with them. And remember why it is we do what we do here. Remember, the mantra! Say it with me now!â
The crowd chanted the mantra together.
Faith without
Faith within
Faith to fail
Faith to win
Faith alone
Cannot prove
Faith with Works
Makes mountains move
As they chanted the last word, the bearded man threw himself off the platform into the fog below. The crowd held its breath for a few seconds. Then suddenly a burst of light erupted from the dense swirling clouds. The man suddenly shot up from the clouds and floated gently down back onto the platform.
They never applauded at a manifestation. But some individuals started to cry at the sight. Smiles and hugs were shared all around. The elderly man walked over to embrace his wife who had been standing nearby. The President always started off the manifestations. Whisper didnât understand how he could do it every month. But she supposed that is why he became the President.
Gentleness, the boy from Whisper's class, jumped up immediately to go next. He had manifested a few times before. She had seen it. She wished she felt confident enough to jump up and go first to get it all over with. But she secretly hoped they might forget it was her mandatory manifestation day.
Gentleness walked to the platform. He then recited the mantra and threw himself into the empty space. Once more, a bright light burst from below and he was sent flying back up to the platform, landing right where he had been before.
The night progressed and more manifestations occurred. Every once and a while it took an extra second or two for the light to appear. Every time you could feel the crowd tense up, hoping a lack of faith would not occur. Like clockwork, though, the light would burst forth and those manifesting were returned to their place.
The night wore on, Whisper waited and waited. Eventually, there started to be lulls in the space between those manifesting. The last of the other mandatory manifestors took their leap of faith and were returned as well.
Eventually, no one moved to manifest. Whisperâs father finally crouched down and spoke to her. âItâs time. You must manifest.â
Whisperâs heart started racing as she walked towards the platform. Her hands became wet as her whole frame quivered.
She pictured her mom, the last time she had seen her had been on this very platform. She loved manifesting. She would do it at least 4 times a year. Not too much, but not too little. Just the right amount to show your faith. Despite this she had insisted Whisper wait until she was at least 6 to manifest. Whisper had wanted to since she was at least 4. She had been planning to manifest right after her mother on that fateful night. Of course her plans had changed. That was the night she decided she would have been better off never manifesting.
Whisper reached the edge of the cliff. She had never been this far out before. She gingerly took a step out onto the platform. The wood creaked beneath her. She took a deep breath then took another step, allowing her weight to be fully held by the platform.
Her head started spinning as she turned around to face the crowd. She saw the other students from class. She saw her father, a look of worry plastered to his face. She took a deep breath, then started to recite.
Faith without
Faith within
Faith to fail
Faith to win
Faith alone
Cannot prove
Faith with Works
Makes mountains move
She finished the words and leapt backwards off the platform. She felt as the dense fog consumed her. Moisture clung to her dress and skin and she hurtled towards the ground. All of a sudden the clouds broke. Below her she saw a thick green forest that ran next to a massive blue lake. The sun was still setting below the clouds. What had been darkness up above had become a beautiful sunset. It was the most beautiful thing that Whisper had ever seen. For a split second, she forgot that she was hurtling towards the earth below.
She closed her eyes and focused on the mantra. On her faith. She had shown her works. She had manifested her faith. With faith and works, this mountain would move. She knew it. She fixated on the thought in her mind. She started to feel a warm glow in her chest.
Then she remembered her mother. She remembered her smile when she had jumped off the platform. The way the mantra seemed to be at home on her lips as she said it.
She had jumped. And they had waited. They had waited for what had felt like an eternity. In many ways, they had never stopped waiting.
Whisper opened her eyes, the warm feeling was still smoldering in her chest. But the memory of her mother dominated her thoughts.
She remembered what her mother said to her that night on the way to the celebration.
âSometimes, wishes and wisdom come in whispers.â she had said. It was her favorite saying. She loved it even more than the mantra.
Wish she thought of her father. She wondered how long it had been that she had been falling. Was this a normal amount of time? Was he worried?
Wisdom she thought of her mother. Her serene smile as she too had hurtled towards the ground.
Whisper she thought. Faith without, Faith within.
The warmth inside her started to swell as the ground below got closer and closer.