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Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Part of the genius of Jesus was his ability to take ordinary things – a mustard seed, a fig tree, a sheep, a gate – and use them to describe heavenly mysteries like divine judgment, redemption, and eternal life.
In today’s Gospel, the Lord uses another simple image – a house built upon either rock or sand – to determine the fate of an individual.
Those listening directly to Christ’s teachings would’ve understood the point well. In ancient Palestine, the wadis and valleys were bone dry during the summer, providing a soft, easy surface to build a home upon.
However, anyone who did so would suffer from two fatal flaws: laziness and shortsightedness. When the winter rains came rushing in, the house – and the owner within – would be washed away.
On the other hand, a person who put the hard work of chiseling into rock would be able to withstand the buffeting winds and rain.
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Notice the Lord does not say if a storm comes, but when.
We’ve all known the cold rush of “winter rains” – loss, unemployment, anxiety, trial or tribulation in some form.
When trials come, those whose faith is rock solid will find the grace to withstand, enduring whatever may come with God’s patience and peace. Those who haven’t put the work into their spiritual life risk being swept away.
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Can you think of a time when your faith sustained you in a storm? When did God grant you the grace of endurance?
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May the words of the Psalmist also be our own, “The floods of water may reach high, but you they shall not overcome. You are my shelter, my hiding place, O LORD. In you I find my refuge.”
My house is built upon you, my Rock.
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Image credits: (1) Adobe Stock (2) Freepik (3) Our Daily Bread, Pin Page