Matthew 7:21-29

Genesis 16:1-12, 15-16

Psalm 106:1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5

Matthew 7:21-29

Jesus said to his disciples:

“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.

Many will say to me on that day,

‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name?

Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’

Then I will declare to them solemnly,

‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them

will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.

And everyone who listens to these words of mine

but does not act on them

will be like a fool who built his house on sand.

The rain fell, the floods came,

and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

When Jesus finished these words,

the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

for he taught them as one having authority,

and not as their scribes.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I want my house and my life to be built wisely on solid rock and not foolishly on shifting sand. I promise to listen to the life-giving words of your Son and act on them. May I accomplish your heavenly will in all that I do.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Tempted by Sarai: In the First Reading, we hear of Sarai’s solution to the problem of not having any children. Just as Eve tempted her husband, Adam, and gave him the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Sarai tempted her husband, Abram, to father a child with her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar. This was not God’s plan. God was testing his servants, and they failed to be patient. Sarai and Abram wanted to hasten the fulfillment of God’s promise instead of continuing to trust in the Lord. Just as Eve listened to the serpent who falsely promised a share in God’s life through sin, so also Sarai listened to the temptation to bring about God’s promise through sin. “Just as Eve gave the forbidden fruit to Adam, so likewise Sarai gives the forbidden fruit of Hagar to Abram” (Gray and Cavins, Walking with God, 43-44). When we sin, we lie to ourselves.

2. Abram’s Sin: Just as Adam did not object to the sinful fruit offered by Eve, Abram did not object to Sarai’s proposal. “And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai” (Genesis 16:2). “That verse has an ominous ring. Did he think to seek the voice of God in this matter? Perhaps he just mused, God helps those who help themselves. Humanly speaking, Sarai was way beyond the age of fertility. So why not try out her suggestion, Abram may have rationalized. After all, God’s promise of ‘seed’ didn’t specify a female individual by name” (Hahn, A Father who Keeps His Promises, 101). The fallout of their sin “is tension in the home (16:4), retaliation (16:6), and the birth of a wild and contentious son (16:12)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 78). God will respond to Abram’s sin by inviting him fourteen years later to “walk before me, and be blameless” (Genesis 17:1). God promises that Abraham would have a son by Sarai. And as a sign of this covenant promise, God commands circumcision. And this sign has a penitential dimension, considering Abraham tried to bring about God’s plan by having sexual relations with his wife’s maidservant.

3. The Conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount: In the Gospel, Jesus, the son of David, concludes his Sermon on the Mount with two teachings: the first is the need to do the will of the Father in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; the second is to listen to Jesus’ words and act on them. The two teachings go hand in hand: Jesus is the one who reveals to us the will of the Father. Every time we read the Gospel in prayer, we are listening to Jesus’ words. By keeping his commands, we remain in his love (John 15:10). God’s word enables us to find the path that leads to harmony with God’s loving will. In Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict taught that we can discern God’s will and recognize it in our conscience, but that we also need Jesus to draw us up to himself and into himself, so that in communion with him we can learn God’s will (see Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. 1, 148-150).

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, you have built your house on rock. It will never fail or be destroyed. Teach me how to build my house properly. May I truly be in this world a Temple of your Spirit, a spiritual house of prayer, sacrifice, and merciful love.

Living the Word of God: How is my “house”? Are the foundations of my life – my faith – solid? What relationships are in urgent need of repair? What needs to be touched up? What needs to be remodeled? What needs to be expanded? Are the poor welcome in my house? Do people encounter God’s love in my house?