Today we see the long-time-coming arrival of the Messiah progressing in a circular fashion: there seems to be steps forward and steps backward, while the whole time God is having his way in preparing the people, preparing minds and hearts to receive his Son when at last he will come.
Today we see the only remaining faithful tribe of the Lord: Judah, being dismantled and taken into captivity in Babylon. The purification process for this tiny seed of faith needs to be further tested and shaped.
Even though things seem bleak for them, God's people still sense that they are somehow in his care and that things will turn out alright for them in the end. They long to be back in their own land, but, in their mourning, they put their trust in God and he will hear their cry and he will answer!
The lesson that God was trying to instill in them, however, was faithfulness to His word. God promised to be their deliverer – and he would keep this promise – always and in many ways. But it was to those who trusted in the promise and the one who made it who would be blessed indeed – and they would live deeply within the heart of the one who made the promise.
In the gospel passage Jesus puts it another and conclusive way: it is not enough to simply listen to the word of God – putting it into practice is vitally necessary as well. Build your house on rock – put your life's work and activity in the same path as your attentiveness and reception of God's message – then when you cry: LORD, LORD, help me with this! help me with that! you will be heard and you will be helped – and you will experience the amazing presence of God the Father, Son and Spirit dwelling deep within your heart, deep within your mind, deep within your life!
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