Blunt Messages

Homily for Friday of the 6th Week in Ordinary Time

Faith without works is dead. That is a very straightforward and blunt message from James in our first reading today. If we are people of faith, it will be made evident by the things we do. This is not to say that our deeds will save us. Faith comes first; deeds follow.

Jesus’ challenge to us in the Gospel is even more blunt. He tells us that as his followers, we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, follow him, and not try to preserve our lives, but to lose them for his sake and the sake of the Gospel.

We are simple people trying to get by in a complex and sometimes overwhelming world. So the challenges issued by James and by Jesus today are difficult at best. How are we to put these passages into practice in our daily life?

One way to consider would be to begin each day by asking God to be present in our eyes and our ears so that we may be able to recognize those whom we are called to help this day. If we can reach out to those in need, and if we can bear the cross that we have been given, our faith will not be dead, but a sign of justification by God that might just lead others to God.

Lent is growing ever closer. The cross is a very important part of the way we keep Lent. The admonition to follow Jesus by carrying our cross comes at an opportune time as we prepare to enter this sacred time of the year.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator