Our gospel passage today is the conclusion of St. Luke's Sermon on the Plain – his version of St. Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. His point is: those who take in the word of God and let it truly affect them will have proof that God is a part of their lives by the good that comes forth in their actions – because that good will come from their hearts where goodness and God resides!
He also concludes, like Matthew, that ones who do not merely cry out "Lord, Lord!" – but those who pray and then do what the Lord has commanded them to do – who listens to God's words and acts on them – will be like the man who built his house on rock so that when the storm came the house was not shaken because it was built well!
Those who do not act on what they clearly hear are like those who build their house on the ground without a foundation – and when the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed. (Perhaps Hurricane Ike is helping to demonstrate this very valid principle in Texas even as we speak!)
May the houses of our spiritual lives be built on rock – the rock of God – the rock of faith – the rock of trust in him – the rock of inviting him to reside fully in our hearts – the rock of proving our love for him by charitable actions to our brothers and sisters; so that it can withstand the breezes, the tempests, the storms, even the hurricanes that may come its way this and every day!
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him!
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