Date: 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scripture Text: James 2:14-18
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 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? So also, faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
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.
Breaking the text open – background and summary:
The second reading for today is drawn from the Letter of James and speaks to the faithful about the connection between faith and works. Works alone, without faith, will not save us. But faith, true faith, compels us to action, to works, as we live out loud that which we believe.
Meditating on the text with personal questions:
Would one watching me suspect that I am a person of faith by the way I act, the way I speak?
Praying:
LORD, Almighty Father, Beloved Son, Most Holy Spirit, You created me from love, through love, and in love to live a life marked by love of You and love for all whom You have created and for whom You gave yourself for our salvation. Love for You compels me to live that love out loud in my praise of You, in my service to You, in my relationships with all whom I encounter. Guide me this day and all days to be your instrument in the world, to give your glory by my authentic and loving encounters with others. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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