Episode 39: 5/12/09

Readings:

Psalm 119:73-96
Leviticus 19:26-37
Romans 13:1-14
Luke 8:16-25

Sermon:

“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.”
The Epistle of St. James, Chapter 2, Verses 14 through 18

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

Faith without works is dead? What does that even mean? We are told in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians that “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” So then why… Why would we somehow come to believe that faith without works is dead? After all, it is not by our works that we are saved, no man’s deeds alone can earn for them their eternal salvation. This can only come as a free gift of grace from God through the power of His Spirit calling us to the cross of Christ.

Amidst our Gospel lesson today, we hear the answer, “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.."

Though it is not of our works that we are saved, though it is not of our actions or our deeds that we find eternal salvation, it is a sure sign that our faith is alive within us.

Faith is an intangible... though we may understand it, though we may be able to feel it, we cannot necessarily define or describe it. All we have to really and truly explain it is the words we find in Hebrews, telling unto us that “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

But what we do know is that is a fire that is lit within us through the power of the Holy Spirit, a light that shines forth from us through the love, compassion and mercy of our Lord, it is torch we carry in the hope that we live our lives drawing closer to Christ and that light that he shone unto the world.

The works of our hands though, the deeds that we do, they represent something that is tangible, and physical, a concrete act that can show what is in our hearts and our souls.

In the Gospel According to St. Matthew we read of life. It’s an image that is carried forth in the writing of the Apostles and in St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. We are told through the vivid illustration offered unto us, that we are grafted, as branches, unto that tree, rooted in the Spirit, held steady by the firm foundation of Christ. We therefore, as those vines, produce fruits… fruits that come from that which we are rooted in. They are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.” From these fruits come all good works and all good deeds, not because of ourselves or our nature but because of the Spirit nurturing and nourishing us in the life of the Lord.

Faith without works is dead because our faith must be based in our works. Light cannot be hidden amidst the darkness, for it is not long before it flickers and fades, that darkness soon overtaking it. The light must be brought from all hidden places to shine as a beacon of God’s great love and Christ’s encompassing sacrifice that it might show forth the path of salvation, the road to righteousness unto all the lost and weary travelers journeying through this temporal existence.

Ours cannot be to live as the hypocrite lives, saying that we have faith and yet showing no fruits of the spirit, choosing instead to abide in unrighteousness and iniquity, in wickedness and sin. Our faith must manifest itself in our lives moving as that intangible force that guides our way to make itself known through the tangible force for good in the world. It must edify and sanctify, it must offer nourishment to the spirit and the soul, it must help the poor and the afflicted, it must abide in peace seeking to end strife, and it must be tempered always by the love that Christ has for all people, the mercy that God shows unto all people.

Seek therefore dear brothers and sisters to show that your faith is alive in you by being vessels of God’s divine compassion, mercy and love. Open yourselves to the works of the Spirit, that it may move you to the greater good, offering yourselves unto your fellow man that the fruits produced through you may offer them strength when they are weak, help when they are in need, solace when they are afflicted and sanctuary when they are troubled. Show forth the light of Christ in your life, striving to imitate him in all ways that you may bring goodness and love, mercy and compassion, into the souls of all peoples through the divine hand of His Gospel message.

It is then that you will know that faith, that transcending, abiding, encompassing faith, is truly alive within you.

Lord, grant this unto us all.

Now may the peace of the Lord that transcends all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus even unto life everlasting. Amen.