Proper 4 / Pentecost 2 / OT 9
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
-- Matthew 7:21
There is an interesting tension in the Christian understanding between faith and works. We can say with Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by faith and not by works, but then we hear Jesus say that we cannot be saved by what we say but by what we do. To further complicate the matter, not all religious actions are effective. "... Many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not ... cast out many demons ... [and] do many deeds of power' ... [and] I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.' " It was not that casting out demons or doing deeds of power in Jesus' name was wrong, but the attitude or intent was also crucial. "If I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3b). So it is not enough to declare our faith or even to do good deeds in Jesus' name. To build our house on a rock is to allow our faith in Jesus Christ to transform our lives in such a way that our works are done not to secure our salvation but to praise God who already loves us. James 2:26 may be right that "faith without works is dead," but works done to curry favor with God or neighbor is self-serving and eventually fall apart like a house built on sand. We are saved by faith and therefore set free to love our neighbor in a manner that praises God and demonstrates our love for God. We no longer live out of guilt or fear but are free to let our lives be a living thanksgiving.
-- Matthew 7:21
There is an interesting tension in the Christian understanding between faith and works. We can say with Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by faith and not by works, but then we hear Jesus say that we cannot be saved by what we say but by what we do. To further complicate the matter, not all religious actions are effective. "... Many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not ... cast out many demons ... [and] do many deeds of power' ... [and] I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.' " It was not that casting out demons or doing deeds of power in Jesus' name was wrong, but the attitude or intent was also crucial. "If I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3b). So it is not enough to declare our faith or even to do good deeds in Jesus' name. To build our house on a rock is to allow our faith in Jesus Christ to transform our lives in such a way that our works are done not to secure our salvation but to praise God who already loves us. James 2:26 may be right that "faith without works is dead," but works done to curry favor with God or neighbor is self-serving and eventually fall apart like a house built on sand. We are saved by faith and therefore set free to love our neighbor in a manner that praises God and demonstrates our love for God. We no longer live out of guilt or fear but are free to let our lives be a living thanksgiving.
