Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 25, 2020 - Thursday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 24:8-17 and Matt 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. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." 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]
With these words, the evangelist Matthew brings the Sermon on the Mount to a close. Because Jesus' teachings in the "sermon" are so challenging, one might be tempted to feel relieved - of guilt, if nothing else!! But the closing words are just as challenging as everything that preceded them. The operative words are "listen" and "act." Just before these words, in the same passage for today's Mass, we read: "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." It will not be enough to be "astonished at his teaching," There must be action and conversion.
This conversion and action are not simply in the external and physical realm but also the interior realm of mind and heart. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stresses that interior thoughts and motivation can be just as important as exterior actions, but BOTH are necessary. The scene, later on in this gospel, of the Last Judgment will tell us what action means. But the ultimate goal is integrity which means the right thing is done for the right reason. This is why Jesus' teaching was so threatening to some of the scribes and Pharisees. They were taking a good thing, the Law of Moses, and using it as a means (cf. Matt. 23:1-36) to enrich themselves.
After laying the foundation of his ministry in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will begin his ministry in Galilee. This would be a good opportunity, before we follow him, to examine our thoughts and actions to see how we are listening and acting on his words. Chapters 5 through 7 of the Gospel According to Matthew are a catechism of Christian life. How firm is our foundation? AMEN