BUILDING ON THE SOLID ROCK


THURSDAY, TWELVETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Kings 24:8-17; Ps 79:1-5,8-9; Mt 7:21-29

Learning to build on the Solid Rock

In accordance with our position that the Sermon on the Mount is our Lord’s solid foundation for Christian spirituality, he concludes his teaching by pointing out this fact. The Son of Man, as the Incarnation of the Son of God, teaches heavenly doctrines without any admixture of error; for he alone knows the Father completely. His humanity is our reception of the knowledge of God the Father in fulfilment of the purpose of our human nature. Thus, these fundamental teachings are foundational to our communion with the Triune God. He clarifies that our coming to God must originate from a deep sense of humility and simplicity, born of our knowledge of ourselves as nothing before His divine Majesty. This sentiment must also define our coming to the Son of Man as our Lord and Saviour. So, he says: “It is not those who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Our faith in Jesus Christ stems from the Father’s revelation of him as His Only Begotten Son. To dissimulate in our reverence and allegiance is to doubt or disbelieve the Father. One who doubts cannot participate in the communion of the Trinity.

Since our will is the seat of control of our actions, to do contrary to what we have professed is to remain in the darkness of unbelief. We demonstrate our enslavement when our lives fail to depict our confession of faith. Our confession is sufficient only when our hearts have firmly believed the Word. Faith is necessary, but not sufficient; our confession is completed by adding the sufficient condition. If we consider our confessions to be the building, faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation laid on the rock as our Lord taught. “Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock. Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.” Since the Word is the true reality of all things, any act of unfaithfulness lands us in the region of darkness and illusion.

Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount is meant to uproot any root of self within us that may pose a hindrance to our nascent Christian spirituality. Coming back consistently to these teachings in our meditations would ensure a well-dug foundation for our inner or spiritual castle. The inadvertence of the children of Israel to the word of God, namely, the Commandments and the Prophets, caused them to be uprooted from the Promised Land to foreign lands. “At that time the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched on Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon himself came to attack the city while his troops were besieging it. Then Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his officers, his nobles and his eunuchs, and the king of Babylon took them prisoner.” This is how the prince of darkness and the world, subservient to him, besiege our souls with the temple of God within. If our interior life is solidly founded on Jesus Christ, these rains, floods, gales caused by the forces of evil and the world will not harm our communion with God within. The lot of Jerusalem will not be ours if we sincerely seek the face of God. “O God, the nations have invaded your land, they have profaned your holy temple.”

Let us pray: Grant, O Lord, that we may always revere and love your holy name, for you never deprive of your guidance those you set firm on the foundation of your love. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CALLED TO KNOW AND PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL

Image
THE CONVERSION SAINT PAUL, APOSTLE Acts 22:3-16; Ps 117; Mk 16:15-18 Proclamation of the Gospel of the New Covenant Celebrating the feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul brings us to a deeper reflection on the meaning and implication of the new covenant in Jesus Christ. As Paul himself narrated in the first reading to his people in Jerusalem, he was so zealous in the practice of Judaism, the religion of his fathers, that his eyes were closed to the new realities and relations God had brought into existence. Though these new realities and relations were prophesied by the prophets and the Law pointed to them, Paul and many of his contemporaries were blind to them. His words are: “I am a Jew and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today.” These words of Paul testify that zeal without the knowledge of the will o...
Read more

GOD IS LOVE

Image
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST SACRED HEART OF JESUS   Deut 7:6-11; Ps 103:1-4,6-8,10; 1 Jn 4:7-16; Mt 11:25-30 Great Things hidden from the Wise We celebrate the solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. The Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ is a mystery, as coming from the mystery of the Son of Man. The human heart of Jesus Christ is a symbol and reality of the love of the Son of Man for his brothers and sisters. It is a human representation of the heart or love of the Son of God for us, his own people and creatures. As he revealed in Heb 2:14, that he took on our nature, that he may share everything in common with us. “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death.” The Father brought us into existence to be the inheritance and the companions of His Beloved Son. The love of the Son for his own could not let him be, but made him take on our nature and appear among ...
Read more

The offsprings of the Old man and the New Man

Image
Monday, fifth week of lent/2024 Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP Offsprings of Old man and New Man To be able to live the new life within the new Covenant in Jesus Christ, the old life must come to an end. The distinctive difference between the old man and the new man is the focus of desires. The old man and all who live by him have their desires focussed on the satisfaction of self. On the other hand, the new man and those living by him desires only to fulfil God's holy will. Thus, the old man and his offspring obey the law of sin and death. Living for self alone breeds sins, and sin causes death. So, the old man and all living by him are dead and harbingers of death to others. They are adept at manipulating the Law of God to perpetuate their interest and selfish desires. An example of this skill is the treatment the two old judges of Israel in Babylon meted out to Susanna, wife of Joachim, employing the Law of Moses as given in the first reading. “Two elderly men had ...
Read more