First reading James 2:14-24,26
A body dies without spirit; faith without good works is not alive
Take the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty’, without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that? Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.
This is the way to talk to people of that kind: ‘You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds – now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show. You believe in the one God – that is creditable enough, but the demons have the same belief, and they tremble with fear. Do realise, you senseless man, that faith without good deeds is useless. You surely know that Abraham our father was justified by his deed, because he offered his son Isaac on the altar? There you see it: faith and deeds were working together; his faith became perfect by what he did. This is what scripture really means when it says: Abraham put his faith in God, and this was counted as making him justified; and that is why he was called ‘the friend of God.’
You see now that it is by doing something good, and not only by believing, that a man is justified. A body dies when it is separated from the spirit, and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.
Responsorial Psalm 111(112):1-6
Happy the man who takes delight in the commands of the Lord.
Happy the man who fears the Lord,
who takes delight in all his commands.
His sons will be powerful on earth;
the children of the upright are blessed.
Happy the man who takes delight in the commands of the Lord.
Riches and wealth are in his house;
his justice stands firm for ever.
He is a light in the darkness for the upright:
he is generous, merciful and just.
Happy the man who takes delight in the commands of the Lord.
The good man takes pity and lends,
he conducts his affairs with honour.
The just man will never waver:
he will be remembered for ever.
Happy the man who takes delight in the commands of the Lord.
Gospel Mark 8:34-9:1
Anyone who loses his life for my sake will save it
Jesus called the people and his disciples to him and said:
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to win the whole world and ruin his life? And indeed what can a man offer in exchange for his life? For if anyone in this adulterous and sinful generation is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.’ And he said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.’
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Self-denial, cross and following
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me”. To be Jesus’ disciple implies: to renounce ourselves, pick up our cross and lastly, follow Him. We are constantly searching to define ourselves with success, honour, achievement, wealth, pleasure, etc. Yet, Jesus calls us to deny ourselves and put Him at the centre of our lives and allow Him to form our values, shape our character, mould our dreams and influence our decisions. When we say “Yes” to renounce ourselves, Jesus calls us to take the next step is to walk with Him in the path of the cross. We all have different crosses to carry. The important thing is to carry them, not with a self-pity attitude, but with joy and courage.
The reason for denying ourselves and carrying our cross is to follow Jesus, i.e. being another Christ. The call to discipleship is a call to a radical commitment to Jesus. Are we ready to live this call?
Question for reflection:
What does it mean to be Jesus’ disciple?
What does it mean to be Jesus’ disciple?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year C” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
