Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
March 30, 2011
To see the readings, click here:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/033011.shtml
Tough readings today! Not tough in the sense that they make me squirm because they speak to me, but tough in the sense that I am challenged to know what to say about them.
In fact, I was so challenged that I went and got a Bible to read the verses around it. This is a less-often quoted excerpt from the Sermon on the Mount. This part of it goes on for one more verse, which says: "I tell you, unless your holiness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you shall not enter the kingdom of God." And strangely enough, even though it doesn't say anything particularly different than what is included in the reading, it sort of made it click for me.
I think this is one of those places where Jesus is making the point that no matter how "good" we are, we are incapable of being good enough. The bar for our behavior under the law is unattainable. We can never follow God's law well enough to earn our salvation.
No, salvation is only available as a free gift from God. Jesus died on the cross to buy our salvation, and all we have to do is accept it. Nothing we can possibly do will earn it, but it is ours for the asking. Of course, that leads to the whole question about good works. Back in the days when I hung around a Lutheran seminary, there was all kinds of dialogue about the role of good works. And in spite of the whole Epistle to James "Faith without works is dead" thing, I am convinced by the rest of the New Testament that in fact, works have nothing to do with salvation. I believe good works are a reaction to salvation, the natural response to the greatest gift we could ever get. But not necessary.
I know I've been writing a lot about Delaney, the daughter of my friend Renee, this year, but she is in her final days on earth and I am just thinking of her all the time. For those who don't know, Delaney had cancer when she was seven, then a long remission, then another cancer at 14. The family was told she wouldn't see Christmas, but she did, and Valentine's Day, and then her 15th birthday. Now she is no longer eating or drinking, sleeping almost all the time, and her kidneys are shutting down. The end is near.
I will always remember the faith that Delaney showed. In those long months when they knew how it would end, but she still was pretty much herself, Delaney used to comfort her mother and siblings with talk of how she was going to prepare rooms for them in Heaven, and how she wasn't afraid, because she was going to be with Jesus. We often use the expression "the faith of a child" but Delaney showed what it meant. I don't think it ever crossed her mind to try to "earn" her salvation. She just knew she had it.
Father, thank you for giving us the gift of salvation, and thank you for the blessing of knowing Delaney and seeing what faith means through her life. Please pour out your Spirit on Delaney and her family. Give her a gentle passing into your eternal care, and give her family comfort and strength. Bless all of us who are making the Lenten journey and guide us on the right path so that we might grow in our faith; help us to be secure in the knowledge of you and to respond in ways that please you. Amen
