Category Archives: hope

Responding to God

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Dear Folks,

One of the things we see in Acts of the Apostles is the theme that being justified (in right relationship with God) comes though faithfulness to Jesus, not from works of the Law of Moses. This pivots around Acts 15 which describes the council of Jerusalem making that decision by the power of the Holy Spirit.  We can read more on that in the works of St. Paul, especially Romans and Galatians. Romans 4 argues that Abraham was justified before being circumcised, and so the uncircumcised can receive the gift too, and it is not dependent on following the precepts of the Law. 

There is some confusion here, and we must understand correctly. “By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac. He who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son (Hebrews 11:17).” “By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, for she had received the spies in peace (Hebrews 11:31).” James 2:14-26, especially 23-25: “Thus, the words of Scripture were fulfilled that say, ‘Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he is called the friend of God. You can see, then that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, Rahab the prostitute, was she not also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them away by a different road?”

If you look at Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament you find a lot written on the Greek pisteuo which is generally translated “I have faith” in the Bible. It carries meanings like trust, hope, faithfulness, obedience, a personal relationship with Him, etc. (It’s a long section). 

I would suggest that what St. Paul and the author of Hebrews mean by “faith” James means by faith and works. The Jews thought more in terms of the whole person, while the Greeks thought in term of parts. We have been influenced by Greek thought. James was writing to the twelve tribes in the dispersion (v 1:1) and who would have been more Hellenized (Greek thinking) and so when they heard that righteousness comes with faith they would have thought “Great, all we have to do is believe.”  James corrects that. 

God offers us the gift of salvation. This is a free gift, all grace. Our acceptance of that gift is a total personal response to Him, choosing Him over the promises of the world. Even the ability to respond is only possible because of His grace. It does not depend on us accomplishing anything before He will accept us, but if we have the chance, we are called to use it in response to Him. God calls each of us. How will we respond?

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Dare to Hope!

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Dear Folks,
Dare to hope!
opeSometimes, fear of disappointment may tempt us to give into despair, cynicism, and settling for the status quo. We then say, “That’s just the way it is.” We throw up our hands, tired of being hurt, and retreat into a protective shell. It can be hard to believe that God could bring good out of this situation. He’s brought good things out of many awful situations, but this one seems too tangled, too deep, too messy to have be an occasion of grace. This seems to be King Ahaz’s response in our first reading in Isaiah 7:10-14 .St. Joseph could have responded that way in our Gospel (Matthew 1:18-24), but he stepped out in faith, and great things happened after that. It was not going to be easy orwithout pain, but it would lead to glory. It will require patience and perseverance that we couldn’t understand in the beginning. I believe in lower expectations short term, higher expectations long term. God is more patient than we are.
We look at the number of people who were raised Catholic who have left the practice of the faith, and those who maintain a minimal connection to the faith. This is not how the
Church was founded to be. This is not being on track with the task of making disciples of all nations. Some people shrug their shoulders and say, “That’s just the way it is, and we just have to accept it.” Some have actually said, “We can’t expect any better because of the state of our society” which suggests that the Gospel message is not powerful enough to advance in a hostile culture. This, of course, can be comforting in that it absolves us from responsibility. But Jesus calls us to a bolder response. The early Church began with a handful of people, very few resources, and were surrounded by an extremely hostile culture. They grew like a grease fire. The mightiest empire the world had ever seen was helpless to stop them. If we truly believe that the Gospel message, the Catholic faith is true, then we believe that it is the most powerful transformative force in the universe.
For this to happen, we must be willing to go where God leads, as the disciples did (eventually) in the Scriptures. God often would lead people where they did not expect to go and would prefer not to go. That requires trust. Those who trusted would see great
things happen, greater than their own abilities could accomplish.
It all begins with taking some time to get to know God better, to fall more deeply in love with him. May that happen to all of us, that our Advent can be fruitful.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim