Built On Rock
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,
Matthew 7: 21-29
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.
A couple of weeks ago I was at a retreat with a group of women who have devoted their lives to sharing the Gospel and the teachings of the Catholic Church. They each came with their own stories of both difficulty and triumph. Since I know some of the women well, I was aware of their house structure. The ones who immerse themselves in the life and teachings of Christ showed a resiliency of spirit even if there was some understandable bitterness built in. I feel it myself.
For the last five years the winds have buffeted and waters have almost flooded the house where I serve. I have lately become borderline apathetic to all of the changes in the church because there are so many and so hard to keep up with them. Since I am a generally optimistic and hopeful person, I think this is a prime example of today’s reading and the importance of building ones own house not on what is going on outside and around you, but what is happening inside, where it is only between you and God. All the storms in the world don’t stand a chance if there is constant attention to the integrity of the building blocks.
What does integrity look like when you are building? It is deeply rooting yourself into not just the Word but the will of God in your life.
There is a posture in yoga called “tree pose” that resonates with me. It requires me to hold a pose where I am not only deeply rooted to the ground (imagine tree roots and how deep and spread out they can be) but also to branch out and to imagine the beautiful foliage that might be sprouting from me. My trunk, or center, must be solidly planted in order to hold this posture as I pull one leg up and rest it on my thigh and hold my hand in prayer over my heart then over my head balancing all until I can outstretch my arms branch like. (There are several variations of this pose but this is how I engage with it). But the strength of this pose is in the rooting and the prayerful focus which brings me to finally balancing and being able to reach out. It is in the opening of the heart space to welcome whatever might come. But this takes practice to execute comfortably and sometimes my spirit just won’t be there. When I am able, I imagine reaching out to God in a “what next” vibe as I open my palms. (**I am not a yoga instructor and tree pose usually just has hands over heart and head. I just had an instructor show me this variation and I loved it**)
Likewise when we make a point of sitting with God (in quiet, in prayer, in nature, in contemplation) in whatever state we are in, we are forming our own building blocks and our own spiritual integrity. Opening ourselves up to whatever God is calling us to (or sometimes, from) takes time and discipline and practice. It doesn’t always feel good and sometimes it will downright hurt like the women who shared some horrific stories of her own experiences with working for the church but it helped her see that God was calling her away from the situation and into something new. It can be sad and scary but trusting that God is always protecting us and calling us deeper into communion with God and our purpose in this life, helps.
Ultimately, as Jesus says, the goal is to have your house stand. If your house doesn’t collapse when things go south or go no where this is actually what gives glory to God. Because you stayed firm in your trust and understanding that God will never abandon you, someone who may be watching might be able to do the same thing and therein lies the glory.
