IV SUNDAY OF LENT: Ephesians 2:4-10

Jesus attack on the Pharisees

We may be surprised by the fierce attack on the Pharisees, which we find in the Gospels, because the Pharisees were good people, who tried to keep faithfully all the commandments, even the smallest ones. Jesus did not find fault with them on the keeping of God’s commands. The problem with them was their self-righteousness: they considered themselves as holy and perfect, and they separated themselves from all the others who were seen as sinners. “Pharisees” (meaning “Separated”) was the nickname given to them, due to their refusal of mixing with people they considered impure and destined for damnation. In their self-righteousness, they thought of having rights over God. That is very clear in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican and in the attitude of the elder son in the parable of the Prodigal son.

Salvation is a gift, not a right

Jesus refused completely this attitude and saw it as seriously putting in danger the salvation of those who pursue it. When we exclude others, we are excluding ourselves. We should never forget that we cannot claim a right to be dwellers of the Kingdom of God. We cannot get salvation by our cleverness or our strenuous effort. We cannot buy salvation. To become citizens of the Kingdom of God is not our birth right. It is God’s gift; a gift that comes from God’s mercy and love. In fact, who can achieve the goal that God has set for us: Be holy, because I am holy (Lev 19:2) or Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect (Mt 5:48).

In his letter to the Ephesians put this truth in very plain words:

 “It is by grace that you have been saved, 

through faith; 

not by anything of your own, 

but by a gift from God; 

not by anything that you have done, 

so that nobody can claim the credit. 

We are God’s work of art, 

created in Christ Jesus 

to live the good life 

as from the beginning he had meant 

us to live it.” (Eph 2:8-10)

Salvation is to be received as gift of God’s love to us. We must allow him to work in us and to transform us, so that the image of Jesus, his beloved Son, is manifest in us.