1ST READING Deut. 11:18,26 – 28,32
2nd READING Romans 3:21 – 25,28
GOSPEL Matt: 7:21-27
This is the last weekend in this period of Ordinary Time and this coming Wednesday is Ash Wednesday and the start of our Lenten season which is my favorite time in the Church year.
What most likely comes to many Catholics minds when they hear the word LENT is; what do I give up this year? What can I give up that is not as hard to give up as this or that? I probably should go to “CONFESSION” at least once; I’ll see what happens when the time comes! I can’t eat meat on Fridays. What a drag!!!!
Lent is not a time of confusion in what to give up, or what to do, as some people find it is. Lent is a time to look at ourselves, to look inward at our most deepest thoughts, to see our souls. Lent is a time to reflect and to contemplate on our lives and if we have built a solid foundation for our day to day lives by accepting the Father’s will which leads us closer to him.
And so, we gather here today to hear God’s inspired words, to hear the stories of people past on their journey in this earthly life. We hear of their trials, their sacrifices, their shortcomings, their blessings in order that we might see ours knowing that God is always here for us as he was and will be for all of humanity, past, present, and future.
When we hear God’s inspired words in scripture, de we accept God’s will for us by letting him transform us bringing us ever closer to him? What happens if we do? What happens to us if we don’t?
To have a solid foundation is to accept God’s love. Like Fr. Rick stated last week, we need to let go and trust Him. God’s love is the only foundation that is rock solid and is manifested and revealed to us through His words and in the word made flesh, Jesus Christ.
This brings us closer to God as we journey through the Lent and Easter seasons and beyond this earthly life until we are with Him in paradise.
In the first reading today Moses is setting before the people two very distinct paths: that of a blessing or that of a curse. It is their choice.
They are heading into their future, the land promised them, the land of Canaan. But they will have to keep remembering by keeping the traditions and activities which have and will continue to form them.
And so, the long trek of forty years through the desert has reached its conclusion. Moses would not be going into the Promised Land himself, so he has to impress upon the chosen people God’s love for them, brought to lite in God’s fidelity to them through the Commandments he gave them, not only etched in stone but hopefully in their hearts.
Since God guides us toward what is truly best for us, God’s Commandments are like a key into the storeroom of God’s blessing.
Use the key and the blessings flow. Ignoring God’s Commandments results in a loss of potential blessings, not as a punishment from God but rather the result of one’s own refusal to use the key.
As Moses reflects on their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land of Canaan, he realizes one thing. God has always done his part. He has broken the power of Pharaoh and delivered them from slavery.
They faced annihilation at the Red Sea and the Lord rescued them. In the desert he had provided them food in the form of manna and quail. Even the rocks gave forth water when thirst was the enemy. This was their lesson; believe in the one true God and make the choice to live within His Commandments and he will always be there for them. He will be their solid foundation on which they will build their lives.
Now, Jesus comes on the scene. Jesus Says: “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 is easy to say we believe. But the blessings come when we live what we profess to believe!
This is the lesson Jesus gives us in the gospel today “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and ACTS on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”
Jesus is teaching the importance of building one’s life on the solid foundation of hearing God’s word and putting it into practice. In order for this to happen we must accept God. And to accept God means to accept his love. And to accept His love is to accept His will for us by a life lived in the image of his son, Jesus Christ.
This is what Paul was telling his listeners in his letter to the Romans, that a new justification comes with faith in Jesus Christ, that this faith does not replace the law but brings a new grace to it through the redemption Jesus Christ has won for us through his sacrifice on earth which is really the sacrifice of love.
The Christian way of life , however, isn’t always the easiest and most attractive. More worldly life styles can be very tempting but are usually built on sand. The storms of life still come. How will we come through times of financial setbacks, health problems, marital difficulties, or the death of a loved one?
How will we and especially the generation coming of age deal with the lure of drugs, alcohol, pre-marital sex, and accumulation of material things? That will depend largely on the foundation which you have set for your life and as parents began and encouraged for your children and upon which they continue to build by their own decisions, their own choices.
And all of us here, whether we have had children or not, have a stake in all this. We, as the body of the church, have the responsibility to set the example of our faith built on a solid rock foundation by living what we hear every Sunday in scripture, taking it to heart by allowing ourselves to be transformed by the words, to live them out in our daily lives.
We gain the strength to do this by receiving Jesus in us through his body and blood in the Eucharist. Again, another reason to be here every Sunday.
We are not so different from the Old Testament nation of Israel who on their journey to the Holy Land of Canaan faltered along the way. We to falter along our journey to God all the while finding him there to help us, to save us.
At the beginning I said that Lent was my favorite time in the Church year. The reason is this: I find spiritual growth through the contemplation and reflections on my life. I learn much about my relationship with God. I also realize what I need to grow more, to make my foundation more solid in order to weather all that this life throws out.
But the most important reason for me is the realization that Jesus, on his journey, was alone. I have Jesus accompanying me on my journey which can lead me down roads I thought not possible.
What can be better than to realize there are more ways to God than what we have experienced so far. This life is a journey and one that, with faith and trust in God, building a solid foundation for our lives, will lead us to the promised land of heaven.