Martin Luther has been the coarse butt of Catholic jokes and the ready stock of Catholic scholarship for almost five hundred years. But not all the damaging talk and negative press is fully justified. Luther had every right to complain about nine-minute Masses and excessive devotion to relics. And he also offered an enduring service to the German nation. Luther translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into the German idiom of his day. When his efforts were printed and distributed, they offered the citizens of multiple German provinces a common grammar, a common spelling, some common idioms – and all in print. Clearly Luther did for Germany what King James did for England. Such nationwide editions help to topple Babel!
But let’s not let Luther off the hook entirely! The second reading (Jas2:14-18) at Mass this coming Sunday was indeed a thorn in Luther’s side. St. James posed a question which Luther struggled unsuccessfully to answer. “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?” Luther’s answer, of course, was “Yes!” “For we account a man to be justified by faith alone, without the works of the law,” the German scholar wrote in his book “On the Intercessions of Saints.”
German scholars Trischreden and Denifle really offer some eye-opening quotes on faith and works from Luther’s writing. ““It is more important to guard against good works than against sin.” And again, “Good works are bad and are sin like the rest.” And more, “There is no scandal greater, more dangerous, more venomous, than a good outward life, manifested by good works and a pious mode of life. That is the grand portal, the highway that leads to damnation.” And regarding St. James, Luther observes, “He that says the Gospel requires works for salvation, I say, flat and plain, is a liar.”
Luther was correct of course in understanding the paramount importance of faith in the Christian life. The Council of Trent, convened to answer the slurs of Luther, solemnly taught: “Faith is the root and foundation of all justification.” Luther and Pope St. Pius V seem to be in lockstep. Yet faith, if genuine, will learn to express itself in concrete, down-to-earth, practical deeds. The passage this Sunday from St. James could not be clearer: “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. Indeed someone might say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.”
Luther was no doubt a genuine scholar and reportedly a good Scripture professor. But he certainly also struggled, as all believers do, with his own faults and failings. He sadly sensed that his flaws outweighed his faith and that his good works – and no doubt there were many – were of no avail. There is more than a hint of scrupulosity here. Why even try? Faith, or, in his case, beliefs would be his salvation. Good works, or the lack thereof, were of little consequence. The knowledge of God was sufficient; all else was a distraction.
Actually Martin Luther was not the first one to be in possible disagreement with St. James. St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness (Rm.4:5).” The Apostle seems to be suggesting that when there is no “work,” no good deeds, faith can be sufficient. Yet not so fast. St. Paul had earlier written to the Galatians, “For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love (Gal 5.6).” Yes, there it is: faith expressing itself through love – belief arousing action!
Of course, neither St. James nor St. Paul was first to suggest that genuine faith must be creatively fruitful. Jesus chided the religious leaders of his day who were meticulous about measuring herbs and spices but neglected the weightier matters of the Mosaic Law: “judgment and mercy and fidelity (Mt.23:23).” Or, as Jesus notes elsewhere, “By their fruits you shall know them (Mt.7:16).” Martin Luther notwithstanding, religious ideas must have practical consequences, or, as Church father Tertullian observed, doctrines should lead to discipleship.
