The Gospel according to Matthew 7:21-29
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
The Gospel of the Lord
Reflection
In spite the fact that Jesus dedicated his entire life serving God, loving and doing good to others; in spite the fact that Jesus was human and divine, it is worth noting that, just seconds before He died, Jesus’ last words were of self-abandonment and complete surrender to God’s mercy: “Father, into your hand I commend my spirit”. Regardless of all that He did, Jesus did not expect God to do anything. This shows that, in our relationship with the Father, there is no “quid pro quo”. There is simply trust in God’s mercy and love for each of us.
That is the message in today’s Gospel. We may spend our entire life doing mighty deeds in the name of Jesus, but if we do them with the expectation of earning a place with Jesus, we are not doing God’s will, but ours! God’s will is this: to love God with all of our heart, our mind, and our soul; to love our neighbor as ourselves; to love one another as Jesus has! Love for the sake of love; It is that simple! No expectations of any kind in return!
Action of the Day
As you go about your day doing the good deeds you do, why do you do them? What motivates you to do them? When you allowed the other driver to move first, were you expecting a “thank you“ in return? Did you get offended otherwise? Are you angry with a relative or a friend because that someone did not assist you just like when you assisted him? Continue to do good to everyone because that is God’s will!
Audio Reflection
