Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 23, 2016 - Thursday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 24:8-17 and Matt 7:21-29]"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..." When Jesus finished these words,the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. [Matthew]
The Sermon on the Mount comes to an end for this liturgical cycle (Year II) with some challenging words. We are told it is not enough to "talk the talk," but we must also "walk the walk!" Scripture scholars tell us that the evangelist gathered sayings from many occasions into a collection and put them in this section of his story as one of five books that comprise this gospel. These roughly parallel the five books of the Torah (or Pentateuch) and portray Jesus as a new Moses who teaches on his own authority and not by appealing to other authorities as Scribes would.
After reading the Sermon on the Mount, one may feel a bit overwhelmed. The ethical demands are strong and don't leave a lot of "wiggle room." Perhaps this is because we have allowed our culture and politics to take precedence and to shape our faith rather than the other way around. Christianity is being required to meet the demands of the U.S. Constitution first and then the demands of Jesus' teaching second. Yet, as a matter of faith, we believe that Jesus will judge us at the end of life and time not according to any political document. The problem is clear. Can we continue to say, "Lord, Lord!" and ignore the Sermon on the Mount? What is the true "rock" for us? AMEN
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