This is the vigil Mass for the ninth Sunday in ordinary time. The first reading is from Deuteronomy, the words of Moses to the people preparing to enter the land of Promise, Canaan. “Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.” I set before you the two ways, a blessing and a curse. A blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord and a curse if you turn aside from the way I ordain for you today.”
The Lord is a sure foundation. He is the rock upon which we build the footings for our house. He is the vine and we are the branches. “Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit.”
We see from these words that we cannot remain passive in the new life that Christ has won for us. That new life is Christ Himself, you are a new creation. He says to us, “If then any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. The former things have passed away. Behold, they are made new.”
And so we are admonished to obey the commandments, to love God with our whole mind, heart, strength and soul, to bear fruit. This is not being passive but work, interior work, the work of our cooperating with divine grace unto eternal life. “Except the Lord build the house. They labor in vain who build it...”
The Gospel today speaks of this Christ’s words are from the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew Chapter 7 “Not everyone who says to me lord lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, But only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
God is at work in us and we must be at work in Him.
Today the world around us and the people in it are filled with contradictory philosophies. There is atheism, secularism, materialism and relativism. There are heresies and hatered of God and especially of the Catholic faith. And we get confused and begin to doubt ourselves and sometimes think that some other way that’s not so demanding will work just as well. But then we remember that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”
“But only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
“He who does not take up his cross daily and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
All of us need to be reintroduced to the lives of the saints and to the foundations of spiritual theology of holiness of life. The investment is great but the return is eternal life and the words of Christ to be heard at the particular Judgment, “well done good and faithful servant, enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world” are meant for us if we obey him and are fruitful.
In the sixth Chapter of John’s Gospel wherein Jesus, in his discourse on the Eucharist, got to the point where he said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life in him and I will raise him up on the last day.” The disciples remarked, “This is a hard saying who can listen to it and they walked away never to walk with him again. Jesus said to his close followers, will you also go? And Peter answers, saying,”To whom shall we go for, you have the words of everlasting life.”
Psalm 31 today proclaims, “Be my rock and refuge, a stronghold to give me safety. You are my rock and my fortress. For your name sake you will lead me and guide me.”
On the hill near Coparnuam at the Sea of Galilee Jesus gathered the people and spoke to them at length about how to construct and direct their lives beginning with the eight beatitudes. This begins with Chapter 5 and concludes with Chapter 7 which we read today. The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most well known sections of the New Testament. The first beatitude is, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This does not refer to those who are in financial or material straits but rather to those whose inner life is abandoned to the support of God’s will and his grace. Who do not rely on themselves or on outside influences? Those who fully trust in God’s will and consult it daily. “Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Justice is one of the four moral virtues and must be observed by anyone who would be holy and would see god. But how many times do we fail to speak up or to act in the force of injustice. We turn away and say “it’s not my business” or “I don’t want to get involved.” When a courageous word or action, which must make us unpopular, could bring truth and God’s love into the lives of others. Today it is not only injustice to ourselves or others that is worrisome but injustice to God and his law and his dignity as Creator and Redeemer.
“Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”
Jesus says to us today, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. And every one who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.”
The Word of Christ is spirit and life. It is efficient and keener than a two edge sword and extending even to the division of soul and spirit of joints and of marrow, and a discern-er of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. “And there is no creature hidden from his sight; but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him. To whom we have to give an account.” Heb 4:12
An anecdote comes to mind which I think is applicable. A Christian Brothers High School in Ireland had a visit from the Bishop His Excellency was ushered into the tenth grade class, on entering he noticed a Catholic symbol for Christ on the wall-The Greek letters P and X. As an ice breaker with the kids he asked if anyone could tell the class of the meaning of the symbol. No one spoke up. He said again pointing to the large P and the X across the bottom of the P. What is this? Finally a lad in the back row put his hand up and said it means “No parking”.
That is what Christ is telling us today, we can not remain in a stationery parked position but must get into gear and go toward our destination with all the skill we have, not turning away from Christ but being poor in spirit relying on him to help us build our house on him who is our Rock.
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