Thursday of the Second Week of Easter
(Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36)
It often seems incredible that one may be saved by simply
expressing faith in Jesus. St. Paul classically
expresses this thought in his letter to the Romans: “For one believes with the
heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.” But faith is more than lip-service as today’s
gospel indicates.
In the passage the speaker (probably Jesus although the
identity is actually ambiguous) juxtaposes belief in the Son with disobedience
to him. The implication here is that
faith surpasses giving assent to propositions about Jesus and even having a
trusting relationship with him. Rather, the
gospel is saying that faith is obedience to Jesus’ commands. He will tell us to love one another by
performing acts of service.
Is faith then just another name for love? This is a tempting conclusion, but it is wiser
to maintain a distinction between the two.
Faith recognizes the need to love and moves one to act. Love guides the action to completion with the
recognition of God in the other.
