From the Bishop
Dear friends,
In a few days, Lent will begin.
Across the Diocese, people will gather for services in which their foreheads will be marked with ashes. They will be invited to repentance and reminded of the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
One of the earliest tensions for Christians was how to hold faith and work together.
They knew that salvation comes by God’s grace through faith, and they also knew that faith is expressed in action. Yet religious action itself can become consuming, drawing attention away from the God to whom it is meant to point.
During Lent, we are inviting members of the Living the Word Community to explore how two early Christian leaders, James and Paul, wrestled with these questions. Their insights can help shape our Lenten disciplines with honesty and balance.
As you begin Lent, may the beautiful words of Richard Connelly be an encouragement –
May this Lenten discipline,
Which we undertake with love,
Turn our minds to things above.
Now we fast that we may feast
Where the Lord of life presides;
May our hunger be increased For the bread which he provides.
As we keep this Lent with prayer
And from pleasures are withdrawn,
Minds and bodies we prepare
For the joy of Easter dawn.
Every blessing,
Bishop Peter Stuart
Anglican Bishop of Newcastle
Romans 4 and James 2
By Father Rod
“Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”
For many of us, at this time of year, our attention is drawn to our credit card statements. Some of us perhaps got a little carried away with the spirit of generosity during the Christmas season and now our credit is drained. Some may have to do a few extra shifts to balance the books, others may have to curb spending for a while until equilibrium can be restored.
Paul engages the idea of credit in the bank as he attempts to grapple with how faith and works relate to each other. “ Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness.” Romans 4:4-5.
Paul uses a banking metaphor to help us work out what grace and faith and righteousness mean for us. We all know that if we want credit in the bank we have to work, earn some money, not spend it, and save it by putting it in the bank. What if we could get money in the bank without working? We wish!
Well, Paul says we can, at least spiritually speaking.
Paul basically says that if you are in relationship with the Source, that is have faith, then you don’t have to do any work to get the account filled up. Wow, what a great deal. Those with children may also be familiar with this concept.
Now, just in case we are struggling with the concept, Romans 4:9-12 takes us back to Abraham to further explain that “faith was reckoned (there’s that accounting term again) to Abraham as righteousness” before he did anything. Good old Abe just trusted God. He and Sarah were well beyond childbearing years when God took him outside one night and showed him the stars and said you will have more kids and grandkids than these, “Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6. Ka ching! No work done by Abraham, money in the bank. Spiritually speaking of course.
Having explored the promise to Abraham, Paul finishes Romans 4 with God’s extension of the same promise to each and every one of us, “Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.”
So, the money is in the bank, and it’s free.
Then there is James. While Paul is concerned with how the money gets into the account, James is concerned with how it is spent. He is not content with it just sitting there earning interest.
James writes his letter (44-48CE) before Paul writes Romans (55-57CE) so it’s not possible that James had read Romans, but had Paul read James? More likely they had a discussion at the Council of Jerusalem (48-50CE) (Acts 15) as it’s interesting that they paddle around in the same metaphorical pond and both appeal to Genesis 15 and Abraham’s righteousness to support their arguments. It would have been fascinating to have been in on that discussion.
James talks about being rich in faith, “Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him?” James 2:5, the implication being that if those riches are not shared, they are devalued.
For James faith without works is not just devalued, it is dead. James 2:17.
He then appeals to another Abraham story, that of the sacrifice of Issac to demonstrate his point, Genesis 22. Displaying that Abraham’s faith was made manifest in the work of obedience to God. This leads him back to the quote he shares with Paul, “faith was to Abraham as righteousness”, but he sees Abraham’s work as a fulfillment of his faith. “Thus, the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God.” James 2:23.
James and Paul do not contradict each other, one focusing on faith the other on works. They hold a tension, addressing different issues from different perspectives. In the bible tensions are not contradictions. Tensions in the biblical text encourage us to avoid easy answers and superficialities, drawing us ever more deeply into our relationship with God and with each other.
Points for Prayer – Seeing Things from Different Angles
By Bishop Sonia
PRAYER: “And it was reckoned to him as righteousness”
A daily prayer for Lent:
Teach us, gracious Lord,
to begin our works with reverence,
to go on in obedience,
and finish them with love;
and then to wait patiently in hope,
looking joyfully to you
whose promises are faithful and rewards infinite;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. APBA
Please pray as we begin our Lenten season:
- for one another, that during this Lenten season we may draw closer to God as we journey through Lent, and deepen our trust in Him;
- for balance in our lives between works of faith and times of prayer and reflection.
Please pray for people who are experiencing challenge. Pray:
- for those who experience deep loneliness;
- for those who struggle with a weight of sin, that your abundant grace may renew and restore them.
Please pray for our global community:
- for peace and peacemakers;
- for unity, and for those whose work is to confront racism.
Teaching on Prayer
A.C.T.S. – A simple way to pray – privately and publicly
Have you ever wondered how to put your prayers together? Have you been called to say a prayer at church and found yourself tongue tied? Have you found yourself on the intercessions roster and you are wondering how to approach this?
The ACTS formula is a simple way to think about prayer, and a helpful framework that you can use:
A – Adoration: Start by praising God for who He is, His character, His attributes, and His greatness. E.g., holy, loving, ….
C – Confession: Honestly admit your wrongdoings and ask for forgiveness.
T – Thanksgiving: Express your gratitude to God for His blessings, love, for particular blessings in this moment.
S – Supplication: Ask. Make requests for your own needs and for the needs of others (family, church, world).
For example:
Gracious and loving God
We thank you for … this Lenten season
We are sorry … that we turn so quickly to our resources
Grant … that we may use this Lenten time to renew our faith in you and our service of other.
This very simple formula can add depth and reflection into our prayer life and enhance our confidence in public prayer.
Help us build the community
We would love to hear your stories of prayer. Please send them to [email protected]
