No free ride

We are saved by grace.

We are saved through faith.

But if we think we have a free ride, today's readings should slap us back into reality.

This is not just an issue for those with misunderstandings of what "sola fide" means. Many Christians – Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox – have misunderstandings of God’s infinite mercy and unconditional love that lead them to a practical, moral apathy “It doesn’t matter what I do or don’t do – God loves me.”

“Slap!” goes today’s first reading (James 2:14-16):

But wilt thou know, O vain man,
that faith without works is dead?

Nor is it enough to believe and do good works “under the radar,” as our Lord makes brutally clear in today’s Gospel (Mark 8:34-9:1)

Whosoever will come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross,
and follow me....

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed
of me and of my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation;
of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he cometh in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.

Slap!

Grace is free, but it does not give us a free ride

Our faith is a gift, but it must also be alive.

The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ must flow within us and through us: in our words, attitudes, and actions.

Whosoever will come after me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross,
and follow me.