Daily Reading
First Reading
1 Timothy 1:15-17
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Psalm
Psalm 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5, 6-7
Praise the Lord! Praise, O servants of the Lord; praise the name of the Lord! Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time on and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust, and lifts the needy from the ash heap.
Gospel Reading
Luke 6:43-49
“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. People do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood broke against that house it could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the flood broke against it immediately it collapsed, and great was its fall.”
Reflection
Friends, today’s Gospel is Luke’s conclusion to the Sermon on the Plain.
Someone who “comes to me,” Jesus says, who “listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.
This is the heart of it: If you are rooted in God, then you can withstand anything, precisely because you are linked to that power that is creating the cosmos. You will be blessed at that deepest place, and nothing can finally touch you.
But the one who does not take Jesus’s words to heart “is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
When the inevitable trials come, the life built on pleasure, money, power, or fame will give way. So the question is a simple one: Where do you stand? How goes it with your heart? On what, precisely, is the whole of your life built?