Works Given and Received
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Whenever good
works are praised in Holy Scripture, it is important to consider the context.
Our fallen minds are easily confused. We learn in Hebrews, “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” This means no good
work is pleasing to God without faith in Christ. Works only please God when
they are performed by those who look to the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. They cannot help but produce good
works, and their good works please God.
When Jesus speaks
here as though eternal life is given because of good works, it is understood
that eternal life is given to the righteous—that is, to those have been
declared righteous for His sake. Good works are the evidence of faith. There is
no faith that does not produce good works, and no work is truly good if it does
not come from faith. This is why our Lord lists these acts of mercy. He would
show us that hypocrisy does not save. That which saves is the righteousness
that He bestows in grace. That righteousness gives new life which produces good
works.
So we ought
therefore to measure ourselves against this standard: How merciful have I been?
How evident is my faith in my life? Do the words of Christ about feeding the
poor and welcoming the stranger and visiting the sick describe my life? Woe to
you if you think they do. Repent. Repent for not doing them, to be sure, but
even more, repent for thinking you’ve done enough. Repent for thinking
you’ve been pretty merciful. Repent for justifying yourself and appeasing your
conscience by dropping a dollar in the Salvation Army bucket while you go home
to feast. Those who thought they’d done pretty well, who dared Christ to point
out when they failed, go to the fire prepared for the devil and his angels. “If You, O Lord, should mark iniquities”—if
the Lord should see our lack of mercy—“O
Lord, who could stand?”
Not one of us can
stand before the Lord in our own righteousness. It is only those who repent,
who throw themselves upon God’s mercy, who are washed and cleansed by Christ—these
are the saved. The sheep protest just as loudly as the goats. Getting credit
for good works makes the sheep nervous. They do not look to their works; they
look to Christ. They don’t want to be judged by their works, but by their
Lord’s righteousness. We beg God to judge us by the cross, to keep His promise
and accept the demands that justice has made on the Son.
We must also
consider this: our Lord does not identify Himself with those who perform good
works. He locates Himself instead with those who receive good works. It is
those who received the mercy of others, who were the beneficiaries, who stand
in His stead. “When you did it to the
least of these,” He says, “you did it
to Me.” The Church is not the healthy, well-fed, well-clothed, and powerful
people of this world. The Church is those who need mercy; they are His
brothers. That is why the righteous are confused by His description of their
works. They remember being fed, not feeding. And what honor is there is being
fed? It seems backwards. But that is how it is in the Kingdom. Our primary goal
is not to perform good works, but to receive the good works of Christ: to be
forgiven, washed, fed, clothed, comforted.
Certainly, you
perform good works. You serve your neighbors. God is pleased with this. He
loves your good works, even when you are unaware of them. As you receive mercy,
you respond with mercy to others. Your mercy is imperfect, but it is purified
by grace, accepted for the sake of Christ. God uses your hands as His hands in
this world. He provides for His brothers through you. You are the baptized, the
blessed of His Father. He has redeemed you to bring you home. In the name of
the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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