Sola gratia

Some interesting readings at Mass today. The second reading was from the Letter of James and is one that has occasioned much comment.

Jas 2:14-18
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body,what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
Indeed someone might say,“You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works,and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

The Gospel for the day (Mk 8:27-35, too long to reproduce here) drives this point home. Christ asks His disciples what other people think of Him before inquiring "But who do you say that I am?" Peter demonstrates his faith by saying "You are the Christ." The best known part of the passage has Him later rebuking Peter ("Get behind me, Satan") for "...thinking not as God does but as men do." This, though, is not the crucial part of the passage. Rather, the critical line is Christ's admonition for one who would serve Him to "...deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." Belief is not enough; we are called to live the faith we profess.

But what it all comes back to in the end is grace. Faith itself is a gift that we do not, cannot deserve. Not sola fide as some theologians have suggested, but sola gratia. Salvation, by any measure, is not rooted in us but in the benevolence, the grace of a God who love His creation enough to offer that salvation to us. Faith and works are both the products, first and foremost of grace. How great indeed is our God who offers us this gift.

Peace and God bless!