"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
(Mt 25: 41-43)
I do not think there are any other lines from scripture that can petrify me me as much as this passage does! The worst three words being:
“Depart from me” (Mt 25:41)
And the next most terrifying words in the entire Bible:
“Truly I tell you: I do not know you” (Mt 25:12)
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St.Paul in today’s reading says that:
“the righteous man finds life through faith” (Gal 3:11)
…ok…
…but what is faith?
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"faith is being sure of what we hope for
and certain of what we do not see"
(Hebrews 11:1)
Well that definition is Biblical and it sure is correct but
is faith solely believing?
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St.James replies:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
(James 2:14-25)
(bolding and enlarging fonts is my own doing ;-)
(bolding and enlarging fonts is my own doing ;-)
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Just in case
that isn’t proof enough Jesus Himself confirms:"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father
who is in heaven. (Matt 7:21, me stressing)
Jesus demands that we DO something!
...Do what?
Do the will of the Father!
Which is?
Oh that’s tooooooo long a question to answer!
But very concisely it would probably be summed up in the ‘Shema’:
Do the will of the Father!
Which is?
Oh that’s tooooooo long a question to answer!
But very concisely it would probably be summed up in the ‘Shema’:
Hear, O Israel:
The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Love the LORD your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your strength.
(Deut 6:4,5)
…so we sure must DO something!!! ;-)
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By the way, i am very thankful that my parents have brought us up to love God. From when we were young (/younger ;-) mum and dad, who are blessed to be part of the Neo Cathecumenal Way, would take us (my siblings and me) for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist which was ...and still is... just marvellous! The 'Shema' has been inscribed in our hearts! :-) and this is how we would sing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toicQHfbOVg&feature=related
(thank you pa u ma!)
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"Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (Jn 13: 3-5, 12-17 my stressing again.)
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Jesus never said it was enough to just believe!
Sure we should and MUST believe …but we …I… cant just stop there!
Jesus demanded that we do things!!
Sure we should and MUST believe …but we …I… cant just stop there!
Jesus demanded that we do things!!
"pray for those who persecute you" (Mt 5:43)
"Love one another" (Jn 13:34)
"Love your enemies" (Luke 6:27)
"Be perfect ...as your heavenly Father is perfect"
(mt 5:48)
"wash one another's feet" (Jn 13:14)
"If anyone would come after me,
he must deny himself
and take up his cross
and follow me
(Matt 16:24)
(there's more but i can't put them ALL up!!!)
i can't leave this one out though:"Take and eat; this is my body" (Mt 26:26)
"Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood"
(Mt 26:27,28)
…and YES Catholics ...i too!!... take that LITERALLY! For so it is!
John 6:55 says:
"For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me, and I in him"
…does that sound symbolic?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!
Well anyway… the point is: SURE faith plays an EXTREMELY important role and is vital for salvation! …But as James said:
"faith without deeds is dead"
(James 2:26)
I must LIVE faith!
Then I might …just might… hear God’s words:
I must LIVE faith!
Then I might …just might… hear God’s words:
'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
(Matt 25: 34-40)
...and if i do get to hear those words, then it would not be because i deserved to hear them but solely because God, in His Great and Infinite Mercy would have given me the Grace to Live the Faith!
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This which i have written is based upon what i have been taught through Catechism, Mass and great/holy people INCLUDING st.Michael's Media. Season 1: Episode 7 - The Reformation explains further and enthusiastically the above. Click the st.Michael's picture to access. (Thank You St.Michael's Media! :-)
(Pictures, though often cropped, were found on internet and remain the property of their rightful owners.)
