Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Which house would you want to live in? The one built on rock or the one built on sand?
In today’s gospel (Matthew 7:21, 24-27) we have the closing of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has been preaching to his disciples and is calling them to greater conversion. Some of his followers were performing works of healing and exorcism in Jesus’ name while living evil lives, not doing God’s will. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus uses the lesson of the two different foundations for building a house to make his point.
Everyone who listens to Jesus’ words and acts on them, Jesus says, “will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” And everyone who listens to His words but does not act on them “will be like a fool who built his house on sand.” The emphasis here is on action. We can call ourselves Christians, disciples, followers of Jesus, and profess our belief in Jesus, but if our actions are not in line with Jesus’ teachings, are not God’s will, then our faith is no more secure than a house built on sand that collapses and is completely ruined as soon as the rains fall, the flood waters come, and the winds blow.
We are called to build our faith, our lives on a solid foundation by listening to the words of Jesus and doing God’s will. So, how do we know God’s will? By reading and listening to Jesus’ words. And a great place to start would be to go back to chapter 5 in Matthew where you’ll find the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (which starts with the Beatitudes) and read through to the end of the it, which is our gospel reading for today. In those two chapters, you’ll find what Jesus was preaching to his disciples about how to live.
Many at that time thought it was a sign of God’s blessing to be wealthy, powerful and content in this life. Many believed it was justified to respond to oppression and violence with oppression and violence. Many people today, even some Christians, believe the same. Jesus, however, was and is challenging those ways of life and calling us to so much more. Difficult, yes, but the only way to have a life secure on the solid foundation of God.
Similarly, in the first reading from Isaiah (26:1-6), we are reminded that “the Lord is an eternal Rock,” (a solid foundation) on whom we can depend. The gospel reading almost echoes this reading from Isaiah which tells us that those in high places the Lord humbles and the lofty city He brings down, “tumbles to the ground, levels it with the dust,” (kind of like the house built on sand) and is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor.”
God’s Kingdom is practically the opposite of the “kingdoms” here on earth. In God’s kingdom, the needy, poor, and oppressed are raised up and honored and valued, and the rich and powerful are humbled and brought low. In God’s Kingdom, peace reigns and violence is condemned. And we are called to act like Jesus, to raise up the lowly, to live peace and to bring about His Kingdom.
Let’s use this Advent, a time of preparation, to not only ready our homes and families, but also ready our hearts. I’m going to try, and encourage you to do the same, to take some time each day this Advent to read the scriptures, reflect, and listen to how I am being called to act. Let our actions follow Jesus’ teachings and build our faith on solid rock so that when the rains come and the winds start to blow, our faith will stand.
Then we, too, may be worthy to enter God’s kingdom. For “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.”
- Eileen Miller