“Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock.” This verse in scripture is from the first reading for Mass today, from the book of Isaiah.
Jesus tells us something similar in today’s gospel:
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”
Both of the readings for Mass today talk about the downfall of people who do not build their lives on God. These verses in scripture are simple, straight forward, and to the point. Our lives will eventually fall apart if we do not build our life on Jesus Christ. Our faith in God and trust in Jesus Christ is the foundation of our lives.
What more could we add to this? The scriptures today could be broken down and analyzed from every conceivable point of view, but they are really not all that complicated. Jesus never meant for his teachings to be complicated, but easily understood by everyone from all walks of life, different ages, and different cultures. Jesus’s parables retain their meaning and are just as applicable to many generations of people throughout the ages. The parables are like a precious stone, each one is simple and unique in it’s own way. Today’s parable is timeless. Jesus said:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the ones 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.”
Therein lies the problem. It’s really easy to get distracted from acting on God’s will. We understand it with our minds, and have pretty good intentions on following through with what we are called to do, but other things just seem to get in the way sometimes. Something comes up that demands our attention, or seems interesting or fun and so we are distracted from doing God’s will in our lives.
This is a great ploy of the devil. Bait and distraction. If you think about it, this is a ploy in warfare too. Soldiers in battle often entice the enemy soldiers and lead them on a wild goose chase, so they can trap and destroy them. We really are involved in the same kind of spiritual warfare. Have you ever noticed that the closer you grow to the Lord Jesus, or become involved in doing God’s will, that the devil attacks your life all the more? It’s hard to recognize it when it is happening. It’s often in hindsight when we see his destructive hand at work in our lives. We should work toward becoming more aware of how the devil actually works in our lives.
Jesus talks about the storms, trials and tribulations that we all go through from time to time in today’s parable. Sometimes, a massive “storm” will hit our lives like an unexpected hurricane. A job loss, a unexpected medical diagnosis, the loss of a loved one, or things like an automobile accident, a natural disaster, or a house fire, can leave us shocked, confused and disoriented. When our world is suddenly turned upside down, how can we get our bearings again? This is the real test of faith, not the times when we are filled with consolations in prayer, but those times when God seems distant. Many of the saints have said that is precisely the times that Jesus is closest to us though.
If we have developed habits of relying on Jesus in our prayers, worshiping God on Sundays, receiving the sacraments of communion and confession, taking care of our loved ones and being of service to those around us, these things do not change. The rest of the world may seem to fall apart, but our love for God and His son, and love for one another will never change.
If you remember, some of the saints found themselves in Nazi concentration camps. Saint Edith Stein and Saint Maximillian Kolby are two that come to mind. They became saints precisely when their world fell apart, because they continued to love God, and Jesus Christ, and love other people, in spite of everything. Love itself wasn’t enough though. Their actions proved their love.
Saint Maximillian Kolby gave his life so another man (who was a husband and father), could live. How he acted on his love for God and others, in spite of the horrible environment that he was living in, is what made Saint Maximillian Kolby a saint. He lived the parable Jesus gave us in today’s gospel.
So, when your own life circumstances seems to be spinning out of control sometime, perhaps you could remember today’s parable and the example of Saint Maximillian Kolby’s life. God’s grace can come to fruition in any circumstance we find ourselves in, if we act on the graces He sends to us in the everyday circumstances of our lives.
