Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock

 

 And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye.  

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 

"But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."

 

- Luke 6:39-49 

 

Currently we are reading through what is known as the Sermon on the Plain (as Luke tells us that Jesus "stood on a level place").  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught, "But I say to you who hear:  Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.  To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.  And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either.  Give to everyone who asks of you.  And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back.  And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.  But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners do the same.  And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you?  For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back.  But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High.  For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.  Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.  Judge not, and you shall not be judged.  Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you:  good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.  For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

 

  And He spoke a parable to them:  "Can the blind lead the blind?  Will they not both fall into the ditch?  A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher."  My study Bible says that Christ does not judge anyone (John 8:15; 12:47).  Therefore, writes St. Cyril of Alexandria, "if the Teacher does not judge, neither must the disciple, for the disciple is guilty of worse sins than those for which he judges others."  

"And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother's eye."  Let us consider here that Christ is directing His teachings to the disciples, among whom are the Twelve, who have been appointed as apostles -- who will be sent out to carry the gospel message.  Therefore, He's preparing them to be teachers, also.  So how will they instruct and correct others unless they have developed their own self-knowledge and correction?

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.  For every tree is known by its own fruit.  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.  A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil.  For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks."   Good fruit is the effects, actions, choices, and initiatives that come out of real discipleship: knowing oneself and correcting faults.  In this way, the inner person is built up and edified in Christ and Christ's teachings, and can therefore produce "good fruit" from the good tree, and a good heart.  How will these future teachers be able to speak and teach others, except through rigorous discipleship themselves?  This teaching is also for every follower of Christ.

 

 "But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do the things which I say?  Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.  And the ruin of that house was great."  My study Bible comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor on faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ.  These "good things" are akin to the "good fruit" in Christ's earlier metaphor, above.  See James 2:24.

Jesus' final metaphor in today's reading is about building a house upon a rock.  The house we build is the home of our lives.  How do we want to establish our lives?  How do we consider the ways in which our choices will build who we are over the course of the time of our lives?  Jesus gives clear instructions here, that it is His teachings (whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them) which make for the best foundation in life, and won't desert us when times get tough.  These are of no use if we simply give them lip service, or agree to them and don't follow through, or practice worship of Christ without taking His teachings to heart and actually living them -- working through the things we need to change, discard, or incorporate into our lives and the ways that we live them.  It's that actual work of the heart that is difficult, the tough choices to forgo what might look like immediate gain for the long-term considerations of a life in which we seek things of heavenly value, and incorporate those things into our lives.  So what does it really mean to build one's home upon a rock, as Christ's parable describes?  Since this rock we are speaking about is "hearing and doing" the sayings of Christ, we look to His word as something that is abiding and standing the test of time.  He speaks from what is an eternal perspective, of things of value to God and therefore for the salvation of the world.  Therefore, this foundation of the rock is one that is abiding, lasting, and eternal.  This is a rock that transcends everything else that might happen to it and will outlast everything.  Since we live in a world that is now in a state of very quickly changing circumstances (for all kinds of reasons), it becomes, for us, all the more important that we rely on this rock.  That is, on something that will last through all things.  We can put our faith into the latest fad, into chasing the crowd, into listening to all the latest information on whatever problem we can name as well as the theories people espouse for our lives and our future.  But there is one thing that will transcend all of that, and that one thing is the rock of Christ -- to sayings He teaches and our faithful abiding by His words.  This is the one thing that will produce longterm results for positive steps in life that outlast and transcend everything else.  This gives us a kind of stability that does not rely on the changing circumstances of the world, or what is around us, or what others think about us, for it is a foundation built inside of us that we carry around with us.  To rely on God -- to have the heart and spirit of the poor in this sense in which Jesus teaches here in the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20) and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3) -- sounds like a risky proposition.  But, in fact, what Jesus teaches here is that it is anything but.  It is, in fact, the surest proposition we will encounter, because it gives us an eternal and abiding foundation, one that is eternal, and will last throughout all things and supersede the values that run counter to it.  In this we can trust, and upon this rock we can build our lives.