Homily: 12th Week of Ordinary Time - Thursday - Rock solid foundation

For two weeks we’ve been hearing Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the beatitudes at the beginning of chapter 5 of Matthew’s Gospel.  Today we hear the conclusion of Matthew Chapter 7 and the end of the sermon.  “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”  Today we might want to go back and read this entire Sermon, to get the whole thing in perspective.

“Those who listen to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.”  Both the wise man and the fool have something in common.  They both heard the sermon.  This difference between the wise man and the fool is acting on them—the wise man does, the fool does not.

The other commonality is that both of their houses are buffeted by the inevitable winds and storms and rains and floods.  But because the wise man is rooted in the Word of God, his house will survive.

Jesus is talking about our souls here. Jesus never promises that the lives of his followers would be without storms.  Rather the wise man, who listens to Jesus and puts his teachings into practice, will survive the storms of life with his soul intact. 

During my four years of priesthood, this reading is often chosen by couple's for their wedding day.  They wisely realize that their marriage must be grounded on God.  God needs to be the rock solid foundation of a marriage.  We get into trouble when we try to redefine marriage or redefine life as excluding Jesus and his teachings.

We heard how the "crowds were astonished" at Jesus’ teaching because he taught with authority.  He has authority over what marriage needs to be, what our lives need to be, how our Church should function, because he is the author and creator of life, of marriage, and of the Church.

May we be found among the ranks of the wise today and always, that our houses may withstand all of the inevitable storms of life, and that in our foolishness we may have a change of heart, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.