Reflection for Friday, Feb 15, 2008

Romans 4:1-12
"(2)For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness."

We are reminded in this passage that Abraham, our glorified forefather, is justified in his covenant with God because of his faith in God. Faith and faith alone is pointed out as the single necessity for righteousness as before God, Abraham is justified only by his faith, not my his works- "something to boast about." Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the other Protestant theologians pointed to this very piece of scripture and many like it more than five-hundred years ago as they fought against the excesses and contradictions of salvation through indulgences. While one's inward faith might mean salvation, as this passage tells us, we must not limit our thinking of being a good Christian to faith and salvation, but also in the way we interact with the world and one another. Specifically, we must commit to acts of love, compassion, and charity, not as something to boast about, but as a responsibility of our faith.

Today as I was pouring through the subway station, making a transfer from one line to the next which required walking up two flights of stairs and walking down two others, I noticed an elderly woman, who looked rather fatigued and concerned, unsure of whether she even had the strength to carry her bag up and down all of those stairs (Her bag must have weighed at least sixty or seventy pounds and I thought as I carried it up a flight of stairs that indeed, she did not have the strength to carry it.). Hundreds of people must have walked briskly by her, all in too much of a rush, or careless, or figuring someone else could help. Some, many, maybe all of those people have strong faith, maybe they all are devout church-goers but not a single one stopped to help someone in need, not a single one offered a hand of compassion, and love, as Christ taught us.

We are all human, tossed in a world that at times can overwhelm and suppress, antagonize and depress, but if we do not express our faith and our Christian fellowship in a positive, loving way every day and every time we are able, then I charge that we cannot hope to change this world, to ameliorate the harshness of our struggle and that of others even if faith and faith alone means salvation.

By Breisen Miller