FAITH and WORKS---the story of Saint James
James was the ½ brother of Jesus
And along with his brother,
John
Was called, “the sons of thunder”
He was
One of the three witnesses of Christ
At the transfiguration
And was present
At Jesus’ agony
In the garden
He never believed
That Christ was the Messiah
Until after the Resurrection
At Pentecost
James received the gift of the Holy Spirit
Along with the other Apostles
And set out to help
Build God’s kingdom
James in his writing
Points out that faith alone
Is insufficient
We must have faith
That manifests itself
In action or good deeds
For others
“What good is it my brothers
If a man claims to have faith
But has no deeds
Can such faith save him
Suppose a brother or sister
Is without clothes or daily food
If one of you goes and says to him
“Go I wish you well
Keep warm and well fed”
But does nothing about the physical needs
What good is it
In the same way
Faith by itself
If it is not accompanied by action
Is dead”
James 2:14-17
James also teaches us about
Patience and pure religion
He tells us that patience
Is a Godly virtue
And that a believer needs to possess it
In order to become
Perfect and complete in Christ
And James teaches us
That being a Christian
Is living righteously before God
And as an example
To others in the world
Particularly orphans and widows
And so Lord
We pray today
That we come to understand the teaching of Saint James
That we are saved by FAITH alone
But that real faith NEVER stands alone
That faith without good deeds
Is NOT real faith
James is believed
To be the first Apostle to die for the cause
Dear Lord
We pray that like Saint James
That the spirit of Christ
Lives in us
Through the FAITH and
ACTIONS in our lives
Robert P. Wallman
6-24-11
Ps
Dedicated to Saint James whose feast day is July 25th
And
my cousin, James Patrick Miller, who our family lost in May of this year
MISS and Love you my friend
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