School of the Word
Praying with New Testament Letters 1/3: St James- Practical Faith
by Sr. Sandra Seow
Passages:
My friends, what good is it for one of you to say that you have faith if your actions do not prove it? Can that faith save you? Suppose there are brothers or sisters who need clothes and don't have enough to eat. What good is there in your saying to them, "God bless you! Keep warm and eat well!" - if you don't give them the necessities of life? So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead. But someone will say, "One person has faith, another has actions." My answer is, "Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions.“~ James 2: 14-18
My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others. All of us often make mistakes. But if a person never makes a mistake in what he says, he is perfect and is also able to control his whole being.
We put a bit into the mouth of a horse to make it obey us, and we are able to make it go where we want. Or think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. So it is with the tongue: small as it is, it can boast about great things. Just think how large a forest can be set on fire by a tiny flame!...
We humans are able to tame and have tamed all other creatures - wild animals and birds, reptiles and fish. But no one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father, and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water. James 3:1-12
“Everyone must be quick to listen but slow to speak and slow to become angry…Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.” ~James 1:19 - 21
Jesus said, “A healthy tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a poor tree bear good fruit. Every tree is known by the fruit it bears; you do not pick figs from thorn bushes or gather grapes from bramble bushes. A good person brings good out of the treasure of good things in his heart; a bad person brings bad out of his treasure of bad things.
For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
~ Luke 6: 43-45
For St. James, faith is practical and is demonstrated through actions and words.
Reflections:
- Do my actions and words show the depth of my faith?
Support Us:
If you would like to support Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity (VDMF), Singapore, please visit the following link to donate. https://verbumdeisingapore.org/donation/
