Homily: Thursday of the 1st Week of Advent - When the storms come

Constructing a strong building and laying the foundations for a solid spiritual life are very similar.  A good builder knows that a building’s foundation has to be deep and solid—rock-like—if the building is going to stand through inevitable storms.  Imperfections in the foundation can have devastating effects in the future.

After Hurricane Katrina, back in 2005, some of the engineers who examined the breached levees in New Orleans found that it was not because of the force of the surge, that the levees did not hold, but because of they were built on sand—they had a poor foundation.

Jesus concludes his most famous Sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, with this parable of the wise man and the fool—the wise man who builds his house on solid rock, the fool whose builds his house on sand.  The parable presents us with a choice: will I build my life on the solid rock of the truth of Jesus Christ, or the shifting sand of worldliness—of popular opinion and human emotion?  Will I hear God’s word and act upon it, or will I reject it for worldly wisdom? 

We are invited to follow Christ and to found our lives on him as our rock.  As we heard in the prophet Isaiah:  “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock”. 

Notice, that both houses are buffeted by storms.  Those with faith are buffeted by storms just as much, and sometimes more, than people without.  Just because we are built on the solid rock of Christian faith doesn’t mean there won’t be storms—Jesus promised that Christians would have crosses.  Rather, the Christian with rock solid faith and trust in God will be able to withstand the storms, when they inevitably come.

Advent has a unique way of SHOWING whether our lives ARE built on the strong, firm, solid foundation of God’s word, or the shallow, fragmented, unsound foundation of worldliness.  We continue to hear stories of people trampling each other on black Friday, the annual new book trying to disprove the authenticity of the Christian faith, daily temptations to allow franticness to replace the practices of prayer and silent reflection. 

Instead of being a time of peace, for many, Advent becomes a time of exhausting frenzy.

Rather, the wise Christian knows that we must make time for quiet prayer, penance, grateful giving, taking the time to visit the lonely and look to the needs of the poor.