Reformation Monday: good works

Now that we are saved by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and we are baptized into that death, what are we to do?  Are we to go on living like we always did?  Are there to be no changes?

Let's look at some examples from the Gospels.  Peter was a fisherman until one day when he became the first disciple of Jesus.  Yes, Jesus claims he will now fish for people but the rest of us know that this was a monumental change for him.

Or Paul.  He encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus, is struck blind and 3 days later goes from being a persecutor of Christians to a street preacher bringing folks to Jesus.  Big change there.

Or, on the first Christian Pentecost when folks were sitting around chatting, Peter was speaking and the Holy Spirit stirred everyone up until they were all talking in language they didn't know but which allowed them to fully understand the other foreigners in the room.

Some of us have a conversion experience like Paul's: a moment in time we can point to that took us from here to there, turning around our whole life.  Many of us have stories of the long road of faith, small experiences of recognizing the enormity of the gift of true, authentic, meaningful life that is made possible for us (as broken as we are) by Jesus.  We are blown away by such an enormous gift and the life God calls us into is a a new kind of life, a kingdom life.

Yet, we continue to live in this world.  We are Children of God who continue to move in this world and God has work for us.  Jesus points it out on the day of his ascension:  go out into the whole world and tell others the story of Jesus.  Jesus is never locked in our hearts; Jesus is always on the move throughout this creation calling folks to turn around and discover the new life of Jesus.  We tell others about the gift of Jesus, who is life and forgiveness.

This turn around churns within us, transforming us into the very children of God we are claimed to be.  Our lives reflect what we believe and whose we are.  We proclaim a Jesus who loved the poor and love the poor ourselves.  We claim salvation from a Jesus who forgives and then forgive others ourselves.  The writer of James tells us that faith without works is dead.  He means this amazing Jesus gift works in and through us, moving us to care for and demand justice for the ones that Jesus loves.

There is much work to be done.  There are those oppressed by powers of all kinds.  We stand in the midst of that oppression, just as Jesus stood with those around him oppressed by powers, and claim the name of Jesus and bring the light of Christ into that space.  That light is life - resurrection life which begins now and continues into the world to come.

Only Jesus saves.  We grow in trusting that saving faith, sharing that new reality in word and deed to bring life and justice into this world.  Telling the story of Jesus is simply a natural part of our work.

Good works won't grant  you entry into the kingdom of God.  Jesus does that.  However, once you recognize the powerful, majestic gift you have received in Jesus, good works are going to  happen.
Take a chance and allow the faith you have in Jesus to show in your life.