Readings Isaiah 26:1-6, Ps 118, Matt. 7: 21.24-27
Rev.
Fr. Emmanuel Emenike Onyia.
BUILD YOUR LIFE ON A ROCKY FOUNDATION THROUGH
THE WORD OF GOD
One of
my favourite hymns in our hymn book says:
In
Christ alone my hope is found, He is my light, my strength, my song! This
cornerstone, this solid ground, firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace, when fears are stilled when
striving cease! My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I
stand.
This
hymn draws my attention to our Gospel passage today, where Jesus 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. And 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: for it was founded on rock.
Here
Jesus calls our attention to something very important. He reminds us that it is
not enough to hear the word of God; we must put it into practice. It is not
sufficient to speak about God, but we must practice what we speak. We are
called not merely to hear God’s word but to daily put it into action. Hearing
or reading the Word is important, but that is not enough. We must let the Word
of God touch and shape our lives. For it is a waste of time and energy if our
lives do not reflect the Gospel we preach if we do not hear the words of Jesus
and act on them.
The
truth is that the houses built by wise and foolish people may probably
look alike. But the difference is the foundations, which can only be revealed
when tested by the storms of life. And prophet Isaiah in our first reading
tells us to trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the everlasting Rock;
he has brought low those who lived high up in the steep citadel; he brings it
down, brings it down to the ground, flings it down in the dust, but the humble
he raises on high.
Dear
friends, what have we been doing with the Word of God we hear every day? What
kind of fruit are we bearing? How has the Word of God changed our lives and the
lives of those around us? How has the Word of God challenged and propelled us
to love God and our neighbours? Is our attitude towards the word of God like
that of the foolish builder who takes shortcuts for quick results? Or that of
a wise builder who spends time digging a secured foundation through constant
meditation and practice of the word of God, just like St. Ambrose whose
memorial we celebrate today?
For St. Ambrose was a native Roman genius
who shines out with surpassing distinctness; he is clear, sober, and practical, and
aims always to persuade his hearers to act with prudence and present their
burdens to God in faith. Through constant hearing the word of God he embraced the faith and mission of our Lord Jesus to the point that he was made a bishop
even when he was still a catechumen.
The
fact remains that, hearing and doing the Word of God is building our faith on a
rocky foundation, that cornerstone, that solid ground, through the fiercest
drought and storms of life, for the fruit of the Word of God in us is seen when
tested in the storms of life. Therefore, when we hear the Word we must apply it
to our daily lives because that's the only way we can feed our soul. Our
society today has enough preachers and hearers of the Word, what we need now
is doers of the Word of God. We need men and women who will feed their lives
with the Word of God and from the abundance of their hearts live a life that
will influence society positively.
LET US
PRAY: Lord God, through your Word we find life and hope in Christ who is our
all in all, grant that through the intercessions of St. Ambrose, we may be
doers of your Words and not just hearers, in order to build our faith on a
rocky foundation through Christ our Lord. Amen. Do have a blessed day.
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