Gospel Reflection on Faith and Works

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote]As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging; and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired what this meant.  They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by."  And he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent; but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"  And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He said, "Lord, let me receive my sight."  And Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well."  And immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.  -Luke 18:35-43[/quote]

The blind man in the reading had faith. He could have stayed silent and just believed in silence, but his faith compelled him to speak out and cry out to God. The faith he expressed in that act, which the people tried to stiffle, is what made Jesus turn to him. The people tried to silence him, and yet we see that he truly was compelled by faith because he continued to cry out. Christ turned to him and said that his faith saved him. Not the act of crying out, but the faith he expressed in that cry, in that act. We express our faith in our acts, because our faith compels us to do so. Not only do we see that Christ tells him his faith has saved him, but the miracle yields two other results. The faith he expressed gained him his sight, which is comparable to how our faith, expressed through works, builds up our faith even more, as faith is similar to sight, in that it lets us see God. Faith is like a spiritual eye. Furthermore, his faith, expressed in works, allows him to do more works better, which we see in the joy and glory he gives to God. We can see then that faith acting through love, expressed in works, lays a foundation to help our spiritual life in other ways. Faith builds on faith. Moreover, the faith he expresses through works causes those who had wanted him to be silent to glorify God as well. We see then that faith acting through works can change the hearts of sinners and can cause others to have faith and to express it in works.

[franciscanheart]

[phatcatholic]

raphael,

even tho this isn't necessarily a tract, i went ahead and added it to the list b/c its a good reflection to hold on to. plus, this moves you up into third place w/ 8 tracts

pax christi,
phatcatholic

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Nov 17 2004, 04:12 PM'] raphael,

even tho this isn't necessarily a tract, i went ahead and added it to the list b/c its a good reflection to hold on to. plus, this moves you up into third place w/ 8 tracts

pax christi,
phatcatholic [/quote]
I'm competing?