Word to the Wise
Sunday, March 6, 2011 - 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Deut 11:18, 26-28, 32; Rom 3:21-25, 28; Matt 7:21-27]I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse: a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today; a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today, to follow other gods, whom you have not known." [Deuteronomy] 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. [Matthew]
This weekend I begin a parish mission at a very small town, Cloutierville, about 20 miles south of my hometown of Natchitoches, LA. The theme of the mission is "BUILDING ON ROCK - Our Baptismal Commitment." My hope is that this will serve as a "preparation" for Lent! (I also hope that Mardi Gras will not be so important that the church will be empty on Tuesday night!) As if to emphasize this theme in my own mind, I will also baptize (at the church in my hometown) a great grandniece! As I exhort her parents and the people of St. John the Baptist Church in Cloutierville to not only hear the words of God but ACT on them, I am surrounded by the original spiritual foundation I received as a child and teenager.
The "rock" that surrounded me was the set of values that I received from my family. The Bible, as such, was not as prominent as the sacraments were in the church of the 1950's and did not become a prominent feature of my daily life till I entered religious life in 1964. However, the words of Christ were lived out around me and shaped much of the way in which I, in turn, lived my life. Since the Second Vatican Council, the increased prominence of the scriptures and preaching in Catholic worship now offers ever greater opportunities for us both to HEAR and then ACT on the words of Christ in a far more conscious way. In the parish mission, I urge the listeners not to be simply "accidental" Catholics who just happened to be born to Catholic parents and grow up in a Catholic environment, but rather to be "intentional" Catholics who are aware of the "rock" on which they can build their spiritual and moral house - the living Word of God. A polite hearing or reading without any effort to live out the teaching is inadequate - we have the Lord's own words to that effect!
The good example of parents, friends and community is a tremendous influence, but our baptismal commitment urges us to look at the foundation - the rock - on which we stand in faith and action. This rock is the living Word of God and our church, with all its living graces and vices, is the Body of Christ which lives in that Word. However, if we don't ACT on what we HEAR, how will anyone else KNOW about it? AMEN
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