Beloved:
Come now, you who say,
“Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,
spend a year there doing business, and make a profit”–
you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
“If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that.”
But now you are boasting in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin. Jas 4:13-17
James the Apostle, the author of the first reading today just tells us like it is. We have to be careful how to interpret it though. ”You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears”. Ultimately, God controls everything but the paradox is God is love so He serves. He gives us the spiritual power of free will to choose, so we too are in control of ourselves to the extent of how we use or abuse this freedom God has given to us out of love. Love cannot be forced. Since God is love, we are created out of love and we must choose to love Him back to have eternal life with Him. Fr. Orr had a great homily yesterday morning about the Original Sin. Ultimately, it is I want control or power. We go around believing WE are going to go do this or that today. We are not using the guidance of the Advocate or Holy Spirit that Jesus gave us to direct our actions and draw closer to Christ with this mindset. St. James reminds us, “If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that”. First, at the start of the day we must recognize that God has given us a gift, life. With a grateful response, we thank God for this gift, ask His Spirit to guide us to do His will (what He made us for), use our gifts we have been blessed with, and go forth into our homes, schools, businesses, and communities to be Christ for others. We, in turn, come closer to Christ. Last, James challenges us, “So for the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, it is a sin”. If we have the knowledge of God, we are baptized, then we have a mission and purpose. James challenges us to live each day. This is a difficult challenge but one with great rewards!
Today’s challenge: Start by recognizing everything you have is a gift from God. Second, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and fulfill the mission God put you on this earth for. Third, do not be afraid.
St. Augustine says, “Work as if everything depends on you, pray as if everything depends on God.”
Be a servant, become a saint!
Christian YOLO
Recent Comments