Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 26, 2008 - Thursday in the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
[2 Kings 24:8-17 and Matthew 7:21-29]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.
The Prudential Insurance Company gave us a cute jingle to go along with their iconic photo of a mountain: Get a piece of the rock! The association of rock with prudence was no doubt intended. Jesus makes the same association in regard to how a disciple should live. The disciple is "wise" who both "listens to these words of mine and acts on them." If we go back and re-read "these words of mine," would we call them the foundation of OUR lives? How solid IS our foundation? How much of it sits on the rock that Jesus speaks of? Notice that the "rock" of which Jesus speaks is always there, but for us to build on it requires that we listen and then act! There's much to act on. There's the teaching about not taking revenge, love of enemies, not judging, of right motivation for fasting, praying and almsgiving, of fidelity to the promise of marriage, of confidence that God will provide necessities so that we do not need to amass greater and greater wealth! Does all this teaching find a home in us and in our conduct? Prudence is a trait that enables us to put wisdom into practice by making wise choices from the many options available. The Sermon on the Mount shows that some of these choices are clearly counter-cultural. The wise disciple is one who must dare to be different. How "different" are we? The passage from the Gospel of Matthew begins with an admonition that it's not enough to say pious things or even do pious acts. How we treat one another - love of neighbor - will determine what kind of disciple we truly are. That is the sure foundation! AMEN