Faith-Works-Justification-St Ignatius of Antioch

HOMILY WEEK 28 04 – Year I

Justified by Faith or Works?

(Rm 3:21-30; Ps 130; Lk 11:47-54)

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A perennial question is “Are we justified by faith, or by works?”

The scriptures in the end offer us the solution – we are justified by faith expressing itself through works of love.

Jesus in the gospel takes on the role of a true prophet, speaking blunt truth to power, pointing out to the religious establishment of his day (the Pharisees, scribes, lawyers) they were way off course, mistaken, deluded by the false gods of money, fame and power they were using to fashion a self-serving religious system instead of humbly offering to the people the unconditional love of God as faith, forgiveness and healing.

For his part, St Paul in his letter to the Romans, argues strongly the opposite view to that of the Jewish religious establishment – to the point that he almost lines up with Luther, especially when he blurts out, “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed by the law.”  That emphasis on faith apart from the law, so necessary to counter that Jewish and Roman reliance on the law, is thankfully balanced off by the “Corpus theory”, which holds that any passage of scripture has to be evaluated and interpreted through the lens of the whole bible, and especially through the life and teachings of Jesus, who alone is the lamb holding the interpretive key to the scrolls in the Book of Revelation (Rev 5:5).

In Matthew 25, Jesus clearly and plainly proclaims the corporal works of mercy (visiting prisoners, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, etc.) as the sole criteria for entering the kingdom of God. Those who rely on faith alone, who say “Lord, Lord, when did we see you hungry?” but did not carry out those works of mercy, actually do not enter the kingdom. Add to that the Letter of James, who also clearly states that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). That letter, incidentally, is the biblical text serving as a foundational underpinning of the 12 Step program of A.A., which holds that faith in a God of our understanding, without working the steps, may make a “dry drunk” possible, but will never bring about a sobriety that is joyous and free.

The Word Among Us, in its commentary on this gospel, offers an interesting insight into the role of the scribes especially, whom Jesus accuses of “taking away the key of knowledge” (Luke 11:52). Scribes played an important role in first century Judaism. They copied sacred texts like the Torah and the Talmud. Because of the importance of these texts, their work had to be meticulous. If their copies contained any errors on three or more pages, then entire scroll had to be redone. If even two letters touched each other, the document could be declared invalid. But scribes not only transcribed the text. They also interpreted the Law, took on the role of judges at times, and wrote their own commentaries on the texts.

It is ironic, then, that Jesus reprimands these “scholars of the law” in today’s Gospel for missing the entire point of Scripture (Luke 11:46(). The scribes were supposed to hold the “key of knowledge” that would open the door to a deeper understanding of God’s word (11:52). But they failed to use that key either for themselves or for the people. Here was the Messiah standing right in front of them, and these men refused to either recognize him or believe in him.

Now, we don’t have to be learned scholars to understand the Scriptures. What’s more, we have all been given a kind of “key of knowledge” at our baptism – the Holy Spirit. It’s the Spirit’s role to take the words we read on the page and write them on our hearts. Even when we read the same passage many times over, the Spirit can make new and different words, phrases and meanings jump out at us. We just have to be willing to carve out a time and a quiet place so that this can happen.

One such example happened to me when prayerfully preparing for a mission session on Pentecost. After decades of thinking the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles under the guise of tongues of fire and a strong wind that shook the upper room, for the first time I noticed the words “… from heaven there came the sound of a rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). So, the apostles saw the Holy Spirit as fire, and heard the Holy Spirit as the sound of wind – an exciting new twist for me, and an insight that itself is a work of the Holy Spirit.

If we don’t do so already, we can get into the habit of calling on the Spirit when we open our Bible. We can just pray, “Come, Holy Spirit” several times slowly and quietly. Then we choose a passage and read it prayerfully. While we may not be moved by everything we read, over time the Spirit will unlock more and more of God’s word for us. She may even lead us to join a Bible Study group or give us insights through the Bible’s footnotes or a good commentary. Out of sheer goodness, God has provided us with a “key” that will open up treasures that will last a lifetime.

Today the Church honors St. Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr. Ignatius is believed to have been a convert to Christianity and a disciple of John the Evangelist. Bishop of Antioch for 40 years, he was arrested during the persecution under Trajan, condemned for confessing Christ and taken in chains to Rome. The ship in which he was sent travelled along the coast of Asia Minor and at every port crowds of Christians would greet him. While on his journey to his death, Ignatius dictated seven letters on the Church, now counted among the treasures of early Christianity. Ignatius arrived in Rome about the year 107 and was taken directly to the amphitheater, where lions devoured him.

Here is an excerpt from one of his letters, demonstrating his unflagging faith in Jesus Christ: “I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.”

The Eucharist brings faith, redemption, justification and contemplation all together into one harmonious whole. Certainly, it is an act of deep faith in the presence of the Risen Lord in Word and Sacrament. It is our greatest prayer that involves contemplation as a moment of intimate silent communing with the God we have just received in the Eucharist. We receive forgiveness or redemption through the penitential rite, and we are healed or justified by the whole celebration.

May our celebration of the Eucharist and this feast today truly empower us, or justify us, through forgiveness and healing, to live the fullness of our redemption through love, as did St. Ignatius of Antioch.