Let my life speak!

WORD 2day: Friday, 6th week in Ordinary time

February 18, 2022: James 2:14-24,26; Mark 8:34-9:1

What would your answer be, if I were to ask you: what is faith according to you? Is it some kind of a belief in a concept? Is it some kind of a memorised truth and assent to it? 

Thoelogically, faith is a response! It is a response given by a person, from within, to a revelation that God gives to a person! The classical definition is that, faith is a personal response to a Self-revealing God. If it is a response, it has to be seen as a response, it has to be seen in action; it cannot remain in the level of a mental assent or a grasp of a concept. If it remains at that stage, it would be incomplete - this is what James says in very concrete terms - If you have faith, show it in action.

Jesus too reiterates the same fact: if you have faith in me, show the world that you have faith in me. How do I show? In my way of life, in my priorities, in the perspective of my decision making, in the way I look at reality, in the way I relate to persons, in the climate that I create around myself, in the kind of society that I promote, in the kind of humanity I uphold! 

What if I claim that I have faith and I am inactive in my Christian commitment? Worse still, what if I declare that I have faith and I do things that are contrary to truth, justice and love? What if I claim to be a disciple of Christ and I act selfish and unjust, discriminatory and insensitive?

It is better that I don't claim by words that I have faith in Christ; let my actions show, let my life speak!