2129ACF071621 – The Grace of Faith
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Ephesians 2:8-10 – 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God — 9 not the result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Ephesians 2:15-16 – 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. Here’s another way to understand that: 15 He canceled the detailed rules of the Law so that he could create one new person out of the two groups, making peace. 16 He reconciled them both as one body to God by the cross, which ended the hostility to God. Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Aloha pumehana, a me ke akua ho’omaika‘i ‘oe, ʻŌmea! Warmest Aloha, and may God bless you, Belovéd! Thank you to all of you who helped us pray my brother, John Edward Todd, home. We appreciate your kind condolences and thoughtful messages. If ever there was a man who was fully prepared to meet his Maker, it was John. All the Todd boys are pretty much task-oriented, and he never lost sight of his destination; but, also made sure there was time for helping someone else along the way. He was in no rush to get past an opportunity to do good things. It’s true he was a bit of a rascal, and a hard-headed one at that. I think as a teen he took aim at getting into more mischief than the rest of us put together. We’ll miss his humor, his caring heart, and his unshakable faith. In fact, John was a terrific example of how essential faith can be. Sometimes he reminded me of a gentleman I knew at Corona Presbyterian in Denver. His name was John Stookey.
John was really tall – especially from that vantage point of a shrimpy 6 year old. He and his wife, Gracie, sang in the choir. John sometimes spoke at special meetings. He was, for a time, the leader of the Corona Governing Body – it was called The Session – and he would talk about how the church was getting along. One particular occasion he told the congregation, “I have been greatly blessed in my life because God has given me Grace to keep me humble.” The look of love exchanged between them – John and Grace – was like a brilliant flash. They knew he meant the Grace of God as well as his dear Gracie … and so did we. John and Gracie shared their trust in God by sharing their faith with us. As you can tell, it was a lesson that has lasted a lifetime. In that lesson we could switch today’s title around and call it “The Faith of Grace.” What of Grace, though?
The Apostle Paul wrote “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.“Just for a quick review, let’s think about that word, Grace. We’ve said in the past (↔ Click Link) that it is a gift, a grace, an unmerited favor from the heart of Christ to our hearts. The word we find used in the New Testament for Grace is χαρις charis {khar’-ece} “It is that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech, good will, loving-kindness, and the Gift of Salvation. It speaks of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns us to Christ; how He keeps, strengthens, increases us in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles us to exercise of Christian virtues.” (Paraphrase from Strong’s Notes 5485) Another term we often use in these pages that also means merciful kindness is unwavering or steadfast love. The gift of Grace, the charism divinely bestowed on every living soul, but not accepted by some, awakens us to the astounding Power of God’s Love gifted to us from the dawn of creation and consecrated for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That wholly Holy Gift of Love illuminates our lives with “faith to move mountains” if only we accept the Grace of God and the faith in Christ Jesus that restores us to salt and light instead of flesh and corruption. Remember this: Romans 8:9 – 9 But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. New American Bible (Revised Edition). Every time you accept the Gift of Grace, it blazes up like a beacon (↔ Music Link) as Faith. It breaks my heart when I look out into the World and see fewer and fewer souls who are ablaze with the Light and Love of God! I hear things like, “What good is faith? It never got me anything, and God never answered my prayers.” We’ve stated previously James 4:3 – 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures; and James 4:7 – 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. IT’S NOT THAT HARD!! How many times have we written here “Honor the Giver by accepting the Gift?” That’s all there is to it. It would be nice if we all remembered to tell God “thank you” when we receive the Grace of Faith, but often we just never think of it. Giving thanks not a “rule” we have to follow; it is a JOY, and charism, that happens when we really think about who gives us Grace and what it does to, for, with, and through us. Before Jesus threw wide open that Heavenly Gateway to the Presence of God, there were only Jews and Gentiles, and there was enmity between them and against God. God obliterated that difference and quelled the enmity in the Body and Blood, and Soul, and Divinity of Christ so that there is no other necessity than to gratefully accept the Gift.
We do well to consult the Prophet, Joel, who told us in Joel 2:12-13 – 12 Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; 13 rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. And there it is again! REPENT! THE END IS NEAR! Perhaps that is something the Apostle Paul had in mind when he counseled Timothy: 1 Timothy 6:11-12, 16 – 11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this [material passions]; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 16 It is he [Christ] alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Grace has been given to us in unlimited measure, and we know it through the Faith we share. If, for any moment, or for any reason, we should ever wonder about that, just bear this in mind: 2 Corinthians 13:5 – 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test!
Check your beacon. Is the Light still on? How do we know that Light is shining? What are we doing with the Grace of Faith? Let’s go back to the Letter of James for an insight. I’m going to use the NABRE again because I get a kick out of how this passage is translated (my emphasis additions). James 2:18-20 – 18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus (kενός – kenos {ken-os’}) that faith (πίστις – pistis {pis’-tis}) without works (ἔργων – ergon {er-gōn’}) is useless (ἀργή – argē {argay’})? When and if we accept the Grace of Faith, we don’t hide it under a basket (↔ Music Link). We use it to make the World a better place. “You have faith, I have works.” Our world has many, many people who do not believe in Christ but who can point to their good works as a demonstration of how it is possible to do good things without attributing them to Christ’s Law of Love – Love God and love your neighbor. “I don’t have to be [religion] to do good things. It is natural for people to do good things for others.” James replies that faith is not a “work.” Faith (pistis) is always a Gift from God; it cannot be manufactured or contrived up by human enterprise. We see this over and over in Scripture, particularly in Paul’s letters:
Romans 4:16-17 – 16 For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 – 11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the Grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith is always a gift from God given exclusively to those who are redeemed in Christ. It is always the work of God and never the work of any earthling. It comes from hearing his voice (Romans 10:17 – 17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.) which persuades us to seek God’s salvation – the preferred state for all of God’s Creation which is unity with him. Those who rely on some sort of contrived “belief system,” even if they don’t get hung up in esoteric rituals and secret knowledge, are like the Gnostics (↔ Click Link) who are trying to use human effort to “produce” saving Grace. Ain’t gonna happen, folks!
Lastly we have works. Good deeds that, for some, arise out of the goodness of their hearts. This question of good works without faith in something is a dichotomy that often sends my brain running in circles. A dichotomy is the division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory sets of information; for me the dichotomy is that many good things done by people who are irreligious or antireligious are significantly more generous and effective than those done by people who are religious. How can that be? James gives some insight into that. Doing a good deed is always a good thing whether you attribute that motivation to do-good to the Universe, the Force, the Intelligent Designer, or even random chance. It is noteworthy to realize that the motivation for this kind of charity always arises from within the self; it is self-centered and – even though it purports to be done in the service of social justice – it is always self-serving. It is at all times a better thing to serve social justice as an effect of love, and because all good things come from and through God (James 1:17 – 17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.) it is just plain silly to take credit for something you didn’t – and couldn’t – do without Grace from God – even if you don’t acknowledge him in any way whatsoever! My favorite way to say thank you is to honor the giver by accepting the gift, and then using the gift. My Spiritual Director, Fr. Blane Grein, taught me I can make my whole day a prayer-without-ceasing by giving A Morning Offering (↔ Click Link). Please give it a try – copy and use ad lib. Here’s a song to get you started: Take My Life. (↔ Music Link)
Is there any goodness in the World? It comes to us in and through God by the love of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Is there truth in any religion other than Christianity, or the Abrahamic Faiths? Whatever truth can be found in any religion or self-made “belief system” comes to us in and through God by the love of Christ and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As we continue through Ordinary Time, I want to continue this discussion about how and why we are stewards of God’s gifts, gifts that cannot be denied, cannot be manufactured by us earthlings, and – in the end – glorify God because they begin and end in him. In fact, everything – including you and me – begins and ends in God when we acknowledge HE is indeed GOD.
James’ point is this: You can have good works without faith – any fool can do that. BUT you cannot profess to have Faith and refuse or avoid doing good works. That’s not faith; it’s just an air-head’s blather. It’s like having an isolated cogwheel with nothing to engage it. It’s like having a candle with no wick (↔ Click Link). Belovéd, we have Faith in the Grace that Grace is ours to keep and Faith is ours to share. Like Mr. Stookey said, God has given us Grace to keep us humble, and humility is the prerequisite for accepting all that is Good. Three of the four readings this Sunday are about shepherds and sheep. God wants Good Shepherds to take care of his children, the sheep of his pasture. If we are going to follow Jesus, we will need to serve him (↔ Music Link) and our neighbors; if we are to feed his lambs, if we are to care for his ewes, we need the Grace of Faith in us to do the compassionate work of making Grace visible to everyone for whom it is available – and that would be everyone.
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever —
at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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