Faith AND Works

 Ephesians 2:8-9.       Common English Bible

8 You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. 9 It’s not something you did that you can be proud of.

How very cool that this should show up shortly after the James “faith without works is dead” passage.   Way too many folks believe that James and Paul contradict one another, that there is a “faith vs works” conflict regarding which they must fall on one side or the other.   This could not be farther from the truth. It is not a question of either/or.  Rather, faith and works are both/and.  

Paul says, “You are saved by grace because you have faith.  You cannot earn your way into heaven.”. James says, “Faith is more than saying you believe. If you truly have faith, then you will be impelled by that very faith to do good works.” You are saved by God’s grace because you have faith and that faith causes you to want to help others.”

There are many things that are believed to be either/or propositions that in reality can be defined as both/and.  Religion and science, for example. It is absolutely possible for these to coexist.  In one of the (required) science courses I took at Chapman, the professor was asked how he could claim to be a Christian and believe in the Big Bang Theory.  I will never forget how he answered.  “Scientists have been able to measure the age of the world back to an impossibly small unit of time, but cannot measure time before the Big Bang.  Nor can they explain what caused the Big Bang. I believe that God said, “Let there be light” and clapped his hands. Bang!  The universe began.” Einstein is known to have said, “The more I study science, the more I believe in God.” Pope Francis studied chemistry prior to entering seminary, and has said publicly and frequently that science and faith working together can solve many of the world’s problems.

I think that many of our current political issues could also be seen as “both/and” if people will only stop assuming they know what the “other side” is yelling about and listen to one another.   It is possible to believe Black Lives Matter and support the police.  It is possible to be Christian and support LGBTQ rights.  

In most cases I can think of, there is a center, a place where both/and exists, a moderate position.  But the voices from that middle ground are rarely heard above the angry noise from one side or the other. 

Faith and works. Religion and Science.  Left, Right and Center.  

Loving God, just as you sent Jesus to bring  a radical message of grace-filled love and forgiveness to the world, so you call upon us to be radical in our love for one another.  May that love lead us to find the quiet center where hate and anger no longer exist, and the peace of Christ rules the world.  Amen.