GOSPEL

December 2, 2021 (Thursday) 1st Week of Advent Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet)

Ps 118:1 & 8-9, 19-21, 25-27a Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord! Lord!‘ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father. “Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine, and acts according to them, is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house. But it did not collapse, because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine, and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible collapse that was!“

Reflection:

This is a warning to those who feel confident about their future fate simply because they spout pious platitudes such as “My Lord,” and the likes. Declaration of one’s allegiance to our Lord is good. It is a prelude to reorienting one’s life to the Lord’s precepts. Thus public declaration of one’s acknowledgment of Jesus is a window to one’s inner life. It explains your actions by referencing it to your love of the Lord. But words need action to back it up. And actions need words to explain itself. That is why only one is deficient. But if one has to lack something, I would prefer to lack the words to explain my action. For if it is the other way around, what you get is the Lord’s condemnation in the gospel today. Not all that says “Lord, Lord” will necessarily enter His Kingdom. But those who do the will of the Father will. For they strengthen their chance to be members of God’s house by their obedience and not by their lip service only.