Justified through Faith and Actions

Wednesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/nab/021506.shtml

Reflection:

I have to wonder if St. James guessed that what he said might have the impact it has had. This short passage could act as sort of a summary of practical Christianity.

First he tells us to listen before we speak and always take the road of calm. Anger, he tells us cannot accomplish God's will. That short paragraph is a central axiom of our behavior. It is also very difficult to do. Even our Lord became angry at least once in his public ministry (you remember, the whole money changers in the temple thing). If I were better at writing and had more time I could devote pages of reflection on just how to attempt to follow that particular rule. For now lets just say, St. James was very wise and very holy.

If that were not enough, his next paragraph contains a statement that is a major dogmatic argument between some very big groups of Christians. We, Catholics, believe that we are justified through both our faith and our actions. This means that faith alone is not sufficient in and of itself to put us firmly on the road to salvation. We point to this very paragraph from St. James as central to that dogma, where he says;

"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone
is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own
face in a mirror. He sees himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he
looked like."

This precept of the faith has put us at odds with the Anglican/Episcopalian Church and, if many of the fundamentalist Christian groups had a central authority, would conflict with their dogmatic tradition of "Once saved, always saved."

St. James puts it clearly; it is through our actions in concert with our faith that we demonstrate our belief. I think the real test is, if a person who does not know you or anything about you can tell through your actions that you are a devout Christian, you probably have it right.

That's very hard to do, especially if one is concerned about "fitting in". I personally have always tried to demonstrate my faith but not to the point where it is disruptive to those with whom I work. I sometimes wonder if I take it too far or not far enough. If I take it too far, people will avoid me because I make them self conscious or feel guilty about having normal fun. If I don't take it far enough, it appears my convictions are weak. If I misjudge that line I become ineffective as a minister in the workplace.

St. James has given us a lot to think about as we creep up on Lent (hint, hint, nudge, nudge, know what I mean). For know, as our Lord continues to work miracles of faith in Mark, I'll work on trying to list more, talk less, and be God's servant always. Pax