Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Have you ever been chatting with someone you just met and felt like you really got along well with them and vibed with them, and then later found out that they’re Christian and it feels like that just makes sense to you? I feel like it has happened to me a couple times before. It’s cool because your friendship didn’t necessarily stem from that shared faith, but maybe grows deeper or changes a little because of it.
Or maybe you’ve had the opposite experience, like someone at a grocery store was nasty to you and impatient and then you notice that they’re wearing a cross necklace, and you felt shocked to see that. Or someone cuts you off in traffic or doesn’t let you merge and then you see they have a religious bumper sticker or magnet, and you wonder if they’re borrowing someone else’s car.
Our second reading this Sunday we hear about the importance of “works.” These examples are about the exact works that James is preaching about in his letter. He is telling the early Christians that just saying you’re a follower of Christ isn’t really enough. It takes more than words – it acts.
As Catholics, our goal should be that people would know we are Catholic just by how we act. In our society today we have a lot of people who might say they are Catholic or say they are raised Catholic, but who are not practicing the faith anymore. Maybe someone goes to Church on Sunday morning, but then they are nasty to their server at the diner on Sunday afternoon. That’s faith, but no works. Or maybe someone love donating food and serving at the soup kitchen, but they never spend time in prayer or go to Mass. That’s works, but no faith. As Catholics, we need both faith and works in order to be alive in our faith. If we are missing one or the other, then our faith is dead.
This week, at work or school or wherever you find yourself, think about this as you face different scenarios. Do people know you are Christian when you walk past them in the hallway or the grocery store? Do you smile? Are you patient? Do you reach out to help someone who has dropped their things when you are in a hurry? Or do you just walk past them feeling glad it wasn’t you? Does our faith compel us to act in goodness and love towards others? Or do we put the needs of ourselves first, and ignore the struggles of others? True faith naturally leads to good works but dead faith leads ultimately to selfishness.