Faith will Suffice"

Today's Mass Readings

Paul, in today’s first reading from his letter to the Romans (4:13, 16-18), strives to impress upon his audience that it is not the Law that saves the human person, but rather, faith in Jesus Christ. For this he will provide a number of examples from the Old Testament, who (even though could not have had faith in Jesus), became godly figures because of their faith. As we know from yesterday’s reading and today’s readings, his first example of faith is Abraham. Plain chronology should tell us that Abraham could have believed in the Law. The Torah, as the Hebrew people came to call the Law of Moses, was not given until after the liberation from Egypt. It was Moses, who at God’s command gave them the Law. Paul’s rationale is that it is not necessary for a person to be under the Law to be saved, because Abraham was not under the Law. Rather Abraham only had his faith in God in his favor. Paul attributed faith to Abraham because, “He believed, hoping against hope, that he would become the father of many nations…” (Rom 4:18). And we know how Abraham believed that his wife in her old age would conceive. His faith was once again seen when he prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac in total obedience to God, even though, it was through Isaac that his descendents would become as many as the stars in the sky. In other words, faith came before the Law. Faith will suffice!

What did the example of Abraham have to do with the Romans of Paul’s time? Well, there were Christian Jews who argued that if one did want to become Christian they must first become Jews (be circumcised). Paul, on the contrary, argued that this was not necessary. Whether one was a Jew or a gentile, there was only essential factor for salvation – faith in Jesus Christ. This did not mean that one was absolved from the Law, but that the one who believed in Jesus would naturally be led to pay careful attention to the Law. However, what saved a person was not the Law but faith in Jesus.

This is the kind of faith (Abraham like faith) that Jesus demanded of his disciples in today’s gospel reading (Lk 12:8-12), when he said, “When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.”

Let us pray for the gift of Abraham like faith. Let us pray for the grace to abandon ourselves into the hands of God and trust in God’s ability to lead us into eternal life.