Faith Without Works is Dead: Reflections on the readings from the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week’s readings continue those from last week encompassing Isaiah, the Letter of James, and the Gospel of Mark. Again they show the links between the Old Testament and the new, and the fulfillment of prophecies. They also provide a foundation for some of the Church’s main teachings on our relations with others.

The passage from Isaiah is usually referred to as “The Suffering Servant.” It is a prophecy of Christ’s suffering for our sins. Just prior to today’s selection Isaiah says, “The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to answer the weary a word that will waken them.” This could be interpreted as relating to Jesus preaching the gospel in the hopes of awakening the people to “trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon their God!” Just as Jesus said on beginning his public ministry, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel,” (Mk 1:15) basically telling the people to “WAKE UP!”

These two additions that I have called out here point to the importance of reading ahead so as to be prepared for mass and also to read what comes before and after the passages selected. This is true also for the selection from the letter of James, below.

Suffering is also one of the themes in the responsorial psalm: 

“The cords of death encompassed me; the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;

I fell into distress and sorrow, and I called upon the name of the LORD,”

The psalm also talks to supernatural life and God’s salvation, “For he has freed my soul from death.” The result is the refrain, we “will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.”

As we begin the second reading from the Letter of James, we can see why the heretical Martin Luther wanted to cut this book out of the bible. Luther put forth the idea that faith alone was all that was needed for salvation, going so far as to add that phrase in his translation of the bible into German; a phrase that was not in the original Greek writings of St. Paul. In fact, if we read ahead to the end of this chapter of James’s letter (unfortunately not part of the selected reading) we find the words, “See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” This is the only place in the bible where those words appear together. We don’t find such a rewrite in the Catholic bible because, as Dr. Peter Kreeft notes, “The Church just delivers the mail she received from Christ. She didn’t write the mail and she stubbornly refuses to be so arrogant as to edit and correct God’s mail …”

Our Protestant brethren often accuse Catholics of trying to bribe our way into heaven through our deeds. There are two important aspects of this that we must keep in mind. First, we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves and that implies that we do things that are helpful to them and in their best interests. As James tells us, “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” Works are important. Jesus told his followers, “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Matthew 5:16) Similarly, Paul repeatedly talks about good works (2 C0r 9:8, 12:12, et al.) but cautions us not to boast on our works, but in the Lord (Gal 6:4, 2 Cor 10:17). (Note here today’s Alleluia phrase, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord.”) The Catechism tells us, “... all our boasting is in Christ” (CCC1460). Also, Jesus cautions us that we will be judged by what we have done, as well as what we failed to do (Matt. 25:31-46). James points to the connection between faith and works with this challenge, “Indeed someone might 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.”

The second important item to remember, is the line near the end of this chapter mentioned: “See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Today’s gospel reading also has two important lessons for us. Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” It looks like they are on the spot until Peter speaks up identifying Jesus as the Christ (which means Messiah). Next Jesus begins to tell his disciples about his coming suffering, death and resurrection. Peter, reacting (and not catching the resurrection prediction which none of them understood at this point) rebuke’s Jesus. Jesus calls him Satan. Why? Because Peter is trying to dissuade Jesus from his Cross, which is what Satan was trying to do in his temptations of Jesus in the desert. In the words of Bishop Sheen Peter “was called Satan because the essence of Satanism is temptation from the Cross. Anyone who tempts Christ from the Cross is Satanic.” (Fulton Sheen, On the Demonic)

The second lesson is that we will have to willingly suffer for Christ’s sake in order to gain eternal life. Jesus is our model. As he suffered for us, we must also suffer for him and for others. Suffering for others is a sign of the love we have for them and for Jesus as he suffered and loved us. It is a sacrifice, and sacrifice is an act of love. There is no love without sacrifice and no sacrifice without love. The Cross is a sign of humility, and thus Jesus tells us we must deny ourselves, even to the point of martyrdom for Jesus and the Gospel. We are also reminded that God’s thinking is not at all like human thinking. As Isaiah has told us, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” (Is 55:8-9)

“In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:6-7) Trials and suffering are necessary to receive the crown of glory: “Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.” (Jas 1:12)