This weekend we hear in Mark’s gospel (8:27-35) the question posed by Jesus to His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” There has been much debate and conversation on just to whom is Jesus posing this question? There are three current interpretations of this question and how it should be applied. The first presents this question being asked to Jesus’ disciples—have they come to know who He truly is, His real identity? The second poses that in fact Jesus is wrestling with His own identity and is seeking input. The third poses that we ask ourselves the following question: “What role does Jesus play in my life?” Let’s consider these questions in light of today’s second reading from St. James.

We have been hearing from St. James’ letter for the last few weeks and I will admit that St. James can be hard to grasp as he demands much of our Christian life. He is blunt about what Christians must do to live a righteous life. St. James demands that a Christian must have an active, lived-out faith life. Otherwise our faith is nothing. Let’s listen to his own words: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” In other words, “I am a golfer but I never golf.” “What am I?” “I am a Catholic but never go to Mass and don’t live out my vocation. What am I?” Like I said, St. James can be hard to grasp. But not dealing with “it” might be even harder in the long run.

Our Catholic Christian faith is unique. It requires of us both “faith and reason” as well as “belief and action.” These two sets of “dance partners” are what make it unique. Unlike the Protestant churches, the Roman Catholic faith calls us to an active discipleship. Just as James noted in his letter, we can ask this, “what good is it for a person entering the emergency room with an injury and all the doctor or nurse says is, “wow, that’s a bad injury…go home and be well?”

The Catholic faith is not “sola scriptura” but is one of Word, faith and action (Believe it. Live it. Share it.)— again the difference between the Protestant faith and the Catholic faith—action is required.

Our Lord calls us to be “involved” with those who are in need here on earth. Listen to the words of Eucharistic Prayer II in the Roman Missal: Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you. We minister to God in the way we care for those around us. In Christ’s own words we hear “what you did for the least of them, you did for Me.” (MT: 25:40).

The Catholic Church excels in reaching out to others and our missionary work is not only to the poor of Africa or the world far away, missionary work includes those locally—our family and friends. This happens best at our parish level where neighbers reach out to neighbors and bring a mixture of faith and action into being. No other institution on earth feeds, clothes, shelters and provides medical care for more people than the Catholic Church. When we add to that education through our elementary, high schools and colleges and universities as well as pastoral care and counseling—the very active Catholic Church is unbeatable. This is not said as a point of boasting but rather as a call-to-action and one that is meant to inspire others to count their blessings and spend them forward. This is how we “live” our Catholic faith and it is influenecd by Scripture and the Traditions and traditions of the Catholic faith.

For me, this is inspiration from centuries and millenia past. We have many wonderful shoulders upon which to stand. From the earliest days of the deaconate where the Church formalized the care of the most vulnerable in society—Jewish widows and orphans—to the high tech treatment centers of St. Francis Hospital and the mobile medical vans of the Knights of Malta to the thousands of American Catholic homeless shetlers and food shelters to the more than 17,483 Catholic parishes in the United States with organizations like our own Pantry Partners, Youth Feed the Hungry and St. Elizabeth House food ministries, to the Catholic Charities and Bishops’ Catholic Appeals, and youth ministry outreach progams— our faith is alive and it is looking for you to be one more spoke-in-the-wheel that goes around and helps. Again the question asked this weekend: “What role does Jesus play in my life...how and what does He inspire me to do?”

This weekend a new movie is coming into theaters entitled “90 Minutes in Heaven” where a minister, Don Piper, is killed in an automobile accident. After 90 minutes at Heaven’s gate, he comes back to life here on earth. He sees the Kingdom and experineces new colors, smells and beauty as well as seeing the most brilliant light he has even seen. I saw Mr. Piper being interviewed on the news and he said one of the messages for him of his movie is: God wants us to be involved in the lives of those around us. Let us recall the words of Eucharistic Prayer 11, “Therefore, as we celebrate the memorial of his Death and Resurrection, we offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation, giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you.”

St. James’ letter may be hard to hear and take-in as we live very busy and hurried lives with work, family, sports and other activities, but the challenge of faith is to seek priorities and them to live out God’s Truth in our own lives, incorporating what we “say” into what we “do.” So again we ask ourselves, “what role does Jeus play in my life?”