Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Show me....

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, it is has no works, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. -- James 2:14-18

I read this passage and immediately got an ear-worm of Eliza Doolittle from "My Fair Lady" singing "Don't' talk of stars burning above/ If you're in love, show me!" Somehow I don't think that was precisely what Paul had in mind, but it certainly captures the passage for me.

I remember the exhortations in the church of my youth to "confess Jesus as your personal Savior!" It was my ticket to heaven when I died, even though I was often reminded of how sinful I really was and how little I deserved God's grace and mercy. I was also expected to pass on the formula to my "unsaved" friends - and even total strangers - so that they too could look forward to being with Jesus in heaven. I was expected to do good deeds too, though, things like contributing to the missionary society or the March of Dimes, visiting the old folks' home and helping the "less fortunate" with my castoff clothes and canned goods. If I'd lived in a city, probably helping an old lady cross the street would have worked too, but in our little town there wasn't much of an option for that.

It doesn't take a Christian to contribute to food and clothing drives, help in soup kitchens or collect money for causes that will help research cures for now-incurable diseases. It doesn't take a Christian to help build schools in majority-world countries or send mosquito nets to help prevent malaria. It doesn't take a Christian to sign petitions or campaign vocally against the death penalty, war, rape, injustice, poverty and atrocities. It doesn't take a Christian to do a lot of things, but if one is a Christian, it is not a choice; it is an obligation to work to make the kingdom of God in the here-and-now, not somewhere in the then-and-there. It's not enough to proclaim my faith if what I do gives a different message. I can't complain about my medical coverage if there are people who can't afford a health safety net or have access to even the most basic medical care without severely or totally impacting their financial position, no matter how precarious. I can't think I am owed my big house and new car because I'm so good and I am being rewarded for being righteous when there are good people who are homeless and hopeless, often through disease or what others call "bad luck." And I certainly can't think God likes me better than those who are not as well-off as I am because I make sure people hear me say "Praise God!" or "Thank you, Jesus!", pray silently but visibly before meals in restaurants, or punctuate my conversations with scripture verses and references.

I have faith but I have to show it. It's how I show the world I am in love -- in love with it because it is God's creation and with all the people of the world, no matter how much I may disagree with them or even be turned off by their beliefs, because they are also God's children. Verna Dozier said, "Don't tell me what you believe. Tell me what difference it makes that you believe!" Faith requires that I believe but also that I show that faith through my works -- words, deeds, attitudes and practices. I have to do what St. Francis suggested, "Preach always, and sometimes use words." And then there's Learner and Lowe's statement, "If you're in love, show me!"

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