Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock

Moni Agias Triadas (Holy Trinity Monastery). Meteora, Greece (photo courtesy of creative commons license)

 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell.  And great was its fall."

- Matthew 7:22-27

Yesterday, on the commemoration of Christ's Ascension, we read that the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

"Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"  Today's reading continues and completes the Sermon on the Mount, which we were given in the lectionary prior to this week's readings leading to the feast of the Ascension.  These verses continue from Saturday's reading.   In this last section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus testifies to His deity, calling Himself Lord (which refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.  He speaks of judgment, which can be truly executed only by God.  In that day, my study bible says, refers to the final judgment. 

 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell.  And great was its fall."  Jesus gives us a prescription for building and living our lives, and offers us what is clearly a choice.  My study bible notes that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor even on faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ (see James 2:24).

In His conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of Judgment.  But then He also offers us a picture of our lives, a perspective on the whole of our lives, and not just advice for the moment or whatever decisions or struggles we may be engaged in at the moment.  In this perspective of building a house, He gives us an understanding of the importance of our choices in building the whole of our lives.  What are we living for?  On what principles do we build and live our lives?  What is our foundation?  Recently I read a review of a book by historian Tom Holland.  It's titled Dominion:  How the Christian Revolution Made the World.   What is notable about this book is not just its assertion that Christianity has shaped the Western World, but that the author is an atheist, and as a historian has come to this conclusion -- that Christianity might be necessary for the civilization.  According to the reviews, it's not a book to read to learn about Christianity, but it is noteworthy in its assertion that it is Christian values and convictions that have shaped our modern notions of law and justice, the dignity of all human beings, the evil of slavery, and so much more that we presently take for granted without considering precisely what kinds of choices were involved in shaping this reality.  Jesus' offering to us of His perspective teaches what an atheist historian might conclude given over 2,000 years of evidentiary effects:  that a sense of order and civilization -- particularly at the individual level in our lives -- is founded upon faith, and that it is this He offers to us.   Jesus' Sermon on the Mount offers to us a way of being in the world, a way of righteousness, that stands a Darwinian dog-eat-dog perspective on its head.  It offers to us a choice that determines that we do not merely need to live our lives in a purely materialistic way, but rather teaches us that we have a choice to allow God in as foundation to guide our lives in the world.  That foundation or mediation in our lives gives us alternatives to a life of opportunistic cruelty or coercion:  it offers us a life conditioned on mercy, on a righteousness and beauty that comes from faith, even from observing the beauty of the created world.  Christ releases us from a life based solely on reaction to our fears and anxieties, and offers us the love and care of God.  Mostly He strengthens us within the will of the Father and our own seeking of that will.  The verse that begins today's section (but is not included in today's reading) reads:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (7:21).   Although Jesus clearly speaks of Judgment, we might be tempted to believe that what He is offering us is merely a perspective on whether or not we receive eternal life, or entrance into this kingdom after our worldly lives.  But that is not what He is teaching with His illustration of building our houses upon a rock, nor in the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount.  What He gives us is a teaching that sets our own lives on a firm foundation of what we might term "civilization" for want of a better word.  The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching for righteousness, in which our lives may build up the world, in which we endure hardship and temptation in order to preserve and care and build up what is good and refrain from what is destructive to life.  We learn to endure in the good, in caring for others, in respecting life, in cherishing what is beautiful, in holding ourselves to a standard of truth that does not lose sight of the dignity and sanctity of life and its value as a gift from God filled with possibilities -- and indeed, struggles which are not meaningless but count for so much.  Let us heed His teachings and start from the beginning to build our lives upon this foundation which He offers, creating through our choice for faith something greater than what we can see right in front of us, lives upon which we may look back and find greater value than the world offers merely through choices of material value alone, or social structures based on currencies that leave God's values out of the equation.  Let us take our house and our foundation seriously.  The storms of life will demolish hopes based on a perspective outside of the strength and the constant steadfast love He offers.