St. Mary's Church Elizabeth, IL

9/29

    Witness in the world

     One of the poems of William Watkins Reid, Jr.  (1923-2007), is founding my breviary:     

    "Help us, O Lord, to learn the truths thy Word imparts:

     To study that thy laws may be inscribed upon our hearts.

          Help us, O Lord, to live the faith which we proclaim,

                    That all our thoughts and words and deeds

                                        May glorify your name.

           Help us, O Lord, to teach the beauty of your ways,

     That yearning souls may find the Christ, and sing aloud his praise

For five Sundays we have heard, in the second reading of our Liturgy of the Word, text from the Letter of St. James.  The author writes to Jewish Christians, who had been scattered throughout the Roman Empire, due to the persecutions of the "Followers of the Way" (Acts 9:2; 22:4;24:14), as the new movement was called at the beginning.  Because they lived in hostile situations, they were tempted to let intellectual arguments win over the demands of the faith.  

The author of this work of the New Testament reminds the addressees, that if the faith is taken seriously it changes people's lives.  It is the responsibility of every Christian to bear witness to the living God, who gives life and, He is the absoulutely faithful One.  We look at Christ, who is the found of the Church and ever faithful to her, and for this reason, we the Church, must strive to mirror the image of Christ, and his fidelity to the Father, because He is the living Word Of God.

It the time of the advanced internet, the information leaps at us from the screen.  It influences our lives with unimaginable degree.  The "polished" information, the improved and capable of changing our lives products: 'for only a few dollars whiter teeth, cleaner clothes and tastier foods," and just before the election sweet politicians promises-it affects and influences our daily life.  Where do we, Christians, stand?

Professing to trust God, to be God's people-is not easy.  Do we cling tightly to the values of this world and contradict the values of the Gospel with our lives?  In his Letter, James confronts this conflict head on: it is not enough to talk the Christian faith, he says, but we must live it: "Dear brother and sisters, what's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions?  That kind of faith can't save anyone" (James 2:14).

The proof of the reality of our faith is a changed life.

Fr. Joachim