Fifth Sunday after Pentecost. Our Venerable Father Anthony of the Monastery of the Caves in Kiev (1073); Forty-Five Martyrs of Nicopolis in Armenia (321-3); Holy Brothers Francis, Mutius and Raphael and Those with Them, Martyred in Damascus (1860)
Romans 10:1-10; Galatians 5:22-6:2; Matthew 8:28-9:1; Luke 6:17-23
Read Romans 10:1-10
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
The end doesn’t justify the means. If we say we are working toward a goal but pursue it by contradictory means, we are undermining the goal we say we want to achieve. Such self-awareness leads us to ask ourselves, what do I really want; why am I committed to a way of doing things that runs counter to my supposed goal?
Today’s reading raises that question for us anew. At the end of the preceding chapter St. Paul writes that the Law revealed to Israel through Moses was never supposed to be pursued by works but was always intended to be pursued by faith. Pursued by means of faith, Christ is the “end” (Greek: telos – goal, fulfillment, purpose) of the Law.
Paul wrote this to show that Gentiles coming into right relationship with the God of Israel through faith in Christ are consistent with God bringing Israel into right relationship with Him through the Law – both are to have faith as the means and Christ as the end.
The question for us is, having come into right relationship with God through faith in Christ, by what means do we now pursue our end? Do we live by faith? Is Christ really our end? In examining ourselves, do we find that we really want to be justified by faith in Christ or are we committed to avoiding Him in some part of our lives and mistakenly trying to establish our own righteousness there?
We are justified by faith in Christ; we are to live by faith in Christ, in all parts of our lives, even the ones we are yet to become aware of. Living by faith in Christ, we can be assured to His love, and have hope that He will draw us closer daily.