Thursday of the First Week of Advent
This gospel from Matthew features one of my favorite analogies from the New Testament – the house built on rock that withstands the storm and the house built on sand that crumbles. This ties in beautifully with the first reading from Isaiah, in which we are told, “the Lord is an eternal rock.” Today we are being told to build our houses on rock – to center our lives on the Lord.
I always appreciate that Jesus is honest with us. In this gospel Jesus is not telling us that we will be saved from hardship and strife and struggle if we follow the Lord’s commands but rather that we will be able to survive these things. All of us will face these storms of life in one way or another – death, job loss, depression, illness and any number of things. The question is: How will we weather the storm? Will we hold tight to the Lord, our foundation, or will we give up and be blown off course?
When I was a child I remember my mom saying, “I can tell that you’re not listening to me. That went in one ear and out the other.” At an early age she was cluing me in to the very important difference between hearing and really listening. Jesus is challenging us to pay attention to this difference as well. Just because we hear the word of God and respond with “Lord, Lord,” we will not be saved. It is when we sit down and truly listen to the word of God and act on it – when it changes the way we live – that we are then moving towards salvation. Jesus is calling us out of an apathetic faith that simply goes through the motions. He is calling us to live as His Father commands – to live like Jesus.
Much like an architect must consider a house’s foundation, we too must consider what we are building our lives on. It is not the way a house appears or how it is decorated that will determine how it will withstand the storm. The same is true for us. Many of us spend our energies building lives that appear perfect or look a certain way to the outside observer, but amidst the storms and challenges of life our foundation will become apparent. In the midst of a storm, does your house crumble or are you able to stand? Is your foundation resting on sand or on the solid rock of the Lord?
- Amanda Grimm