I’m headed out for a long (but spiritual) weekend serving on the ACTS cook team. I’ve already blogged about the irony of me being on the cook team but no fear, they have put me as ‘front of house’ which means I set up and tear down and most likely do all dishes. 🙂 But as God is always clever in incorporating ‘themes’ throughout our days I was not surprised to have been asked to do the focus segment for today’s Cornerstone Bible Study. The week’s lesson was Faith with Works.
In order to save me time (packing and baseball practice still on my agenda) I thought I’d share a portion of the insight God gave me through the focus lesson:
James 2:17
So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Imagine feeling the peace and mercy Christ has shown you but you respond by never smiling at someone, or laughing with someone, or crying for someone. Imagine having the joy of Christ within you but you see an elderly woman trying to make it up some steps without a railing and you walk on by without lending a hand, or someone in a rush who could be late to a meeting and suddenly all of their books and papers go flying out of their hands to cover the ground and yet you walk on by without helping to pick them up?
These are obviously simple examples but it is the point that James is trying to make, this is a simple issue. You cannot have faith without works, it isn’t possible because it was not the way of Christ. The bigger examples of works come as directives from Christ in Matthew 25:35-36:
Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
I’ve been witness to this faith in so many realms specifically within our parish community. I’m in awe every day as I see the groups gathering to go to Martha’s kitchen and take an entire day out of their busy lives to feed the poor, or to see the women working diligently in the quilt ministry to get prayer quilts to the sick, or to see the people that come in looking for help with SVDP, they are scared, tired, and SVDP gives them food for their families, clothing and assistance.
But there is another side of this argument and that is works without faith. I have a particular friend that by choice is an agnostic. He believes there ‘could’ be an energy or something out there but he chooses to remain skeptical. He on all accounts is a good man. He adores his wife and kids. He spends time with his family. He is good to his mother. If I called him today to ask him for a loan he’d probably give it to me without question (most likely with interest) 🙂 There are many ways in which this man is good. However, and I say this with love (because who knows maybe one day God will finally use our arguments of faith and politics to convert him) but his goodness only extends so far. If I were to ask him to do something for someone else he didn’t want to do he would not have an issue saying ‘no’ because a) he doesn’t know the person and b) he just doesn’t want to.
That is where the difference comes in…many people can do works and they do them on their terms. But as Christians we are called by our faith to do works and we do them even if we don’t ‘feel’ like it.
I have a good friend that her mother in law suffers from MS. She is in her 50’s and is already in the progressive phase, living in a nursing home unable to walk, or even use the restroom on her own. This woman has not been the kindest to my friend. In all regards it is fair to say she has been one of ‘those’ mother in laws. 😉 And she especially hasn’t been kind to her in regards to being a Catholic. But despite their differences and despite the treatment she has received from her mother in law, my friend is urged by the love of Christ in her heart to go and take care of her mother in law, to make sure she is being watched after properly and in many instances she has had to do things that none of us would volunteer to do.
Most importantly she has done this for years and rarely discusses it. Oh sure, every now and then a joke can be thrown out there to relieve some of the stress but there have been countless visits and countless cleanings that have never been discussed because my friend does work because her mother in law is still a child of God and a part of the body of Christ.
Faith with works is not about boasting or keeping a tally of all the good things you’ve done. In my opinion, James is asking us to answer a very tough question, ‘Do we truly believe?’ And in believing do we fully rely on Christ? Because when you do there is no argument about living a life of faith and works because you would be living out the will of God.
Blessings to all of you! Please keep the women attending the ACTS retreat in your prayers and I will give a recount on Sunday!
Blessings
Shannon