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From: Matthew 7:21-29

Doing the Will of God

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [21] “Not every one who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who
is in Heaven. [22] On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not pro-
phesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty
works in Your name?’ [23] And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;
depart from Me, you evildoers.’

Building on Rock

[24] “Every one then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a
wise man who built his house upon the rock; [25] and the rain fell, and the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because
it had been founded on the rock. [26] And every one who hears these words of
mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon
the sand; [27] and the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”

[28] And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His
teaching, [29] for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their
scribes.

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Commentary:

21-23. To be genuine, prayer must be accompanied by a persevering effort to
do God’s will. Similarly, in order to do His will it is not enough to speak about
the things of God: there must consistency between what one preaches—what
one says—and what one does: “The Kingdom of God does not consist in talk
but in power” (1 Corinthians 4:20); “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22).

Christians, “holding loyally to the Gospel, enriched by its resources, and joining
forces with all who love and practice justice, have shouldered a weighty task on
earth and they must render an account of it to Him who will judge all men on the
last day. Not every one who says, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
but those who do the will of the Father, and who manfully put their hands to the
work” (Vatican II, “Gaudium Et Spes”, 93).

To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, to be holy, it is not enough, then, to speak elo-
quently about holiness. One has to practice what one preaches, to produce fruit
which accords with one’s words. Fray Luis de Leon puts it very graphically: “No-
tice that to be a good Christian it is not enough just to pray and fast and hear
Mass; God must find you faithful, like another Job or Abraham, in times of tribu-
lation” (”Guide for Sinners”, Book 1, Part 2, Chapter 21).

Even if a person exercises an ecclesiastical ministry that does not assure his
holiness; he needs to practice the virtues he preaches. Besides, we know from
experience that any Christian (clerical, religious or lay) who does not strive to
act in accordance with the demands of the faith he professes, begins to weaken
in his faith and eventually parts company also with the teaching of the Church.
Anyone who does not live in accordance with what he says, ends up saying
things which are contrary to faith.

The authority with which Jesus speaks in these verses reveals Him as sovereign
Judge of the living and the dead. No Old Testament prophet ever spoke with His
authority.

22. “That day”: a technical formula in biblical language meaning the day of the
Judgment of the Lord or the Last Judgment.

23. This passage refers to the Judgment where Jesus will be the Judge. The sa-
cred text uses a verb which means the public proclamation of a truth. Since in
this case Jesus Christ is the Judge who makes the declaration, it takes the form
of a judicial sentence.

24-27. These verses constitute the positive side of the previous passage. A per-
son who tries to put Christ’s teaching into practice, even if he experiences per-
sonal difficulties or lives during times of upheaval in the life of the Church or is
surrounded by error, will stay firm in the faith, like the wise man who builds his
house on rock.

Also, if we are to stay strong in times of difficulty, we need, when things are calm
and peaceful, to accept little contradictions with a good grace, to be very refined
in our relationship with God and with others, and to perform the duties of our state
in life in a spirit of loyalty and abnegation. By acting in this way we are laying
down a good foundation, maintaining the edifice of our spiritual life and repairing
any cracks which make their appearance.

28-29. Jesus’ listeners could clearly see the radical difference between the style
of teaching of the scribes and Pharisees, and the conviction and confidence with
which Jesus spoke. There is nothing tentative about His words; they leave no
room for doubt.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Jeremiah 1:4-10

The Lord calls Jeremiah

[4] Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
[5] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
[6] Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only
a youth.” [7] But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you you shall go,
and whatever I command you you shall speak.
[8] Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you.
[9] Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said
to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
[10] See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build up and to plant.”

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Commentary:

1:1-19. The book of Jeremiah is a collection of the prophet’s oracles arranged
more by subject than in chronological order and interspersed with stories about
his life. The heading (vv. 1-3), as in most of the prophetical books, introduces the
prophet and tells when he lived. Then, as an introduction to the book, comes an
account of the call of Jeremiah (vv. 4-10) along with two visions that give a good
description of the man (vv. 11-12 and 13-19).

1:4-10. This account of the call of Jeremiah gives a very good idea of the myste-
rious nature of every divine call – a call from all eternity and involving no merit on
the part of the person called, in which God makes known to a soul the why and
wherefore of his or her life. No one comes into being by accident, for everything
that happens is part of God’s providence (v. 5). God’s action in creating a person
is described graphically – “formed” you in the womb – a word used to describe
what a potter does when he models something in clay. The Lord “knew” Jere-
miah—a reference to his choosing him for a specific mission (cf. Amos 3:2; Rom
8:29); God has a plan for each person, and he endows each with talents that
equip him or her to put that plan into effect. The passage also talks of a “conse-
cration”, that is, the earmarking of a person or thing for the service of God. God’s
plan for someone, made before the person is born, emerges in due course, when
he or she is old enough to take on the assignments that God has been preparing
him for. Glossing this passage, St John Chrysostom, has God say this: “I am
the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your life is not a work of
nature, nor the fruit of suffering. I am the origin and cause of all things: you should
obey and offer yourself to me,” and he adds: “It does not begin with I consecrated
you: first, I knew you; then I consecrated you. Thus is the original choice shown,
and after the original choice, the particular calling” (Fragmenta in Ieremiam, 1).

When the mystery of a person’s calling begins to be revealed, their initial reac-
tion can be one of fear, because they are very conscious of their limitations and
feel that they are not up to the tasks that the Lord entrusts them with. Jeremiah,
for example, argues that he is too young (v. 6). We do not know how old he was
at the time, for the word he uses to describe his age (na’ar) is imprecise. He
was probably only an adolescent (cf. Gen 37:2; 1 Sam 2:18; 3:1-21). In respon-
ding to a vocation, one needs to listen, above all, to God who calls, who never
leaves his chosen ones on their own, and who always gives them the wherewi-
thal to carry out the mission he is charging them with (vv. 7-8).

The Lord’s symbolic gesture of putting out his hand to touch Jeremiah’s mouth,
as if to fill it with divine words, is similar to other gestures found in accounts of
the calling of prophets (cf. Is 6:7; Ezek 2:8-3:3; Dan 10:16). It is to tell the man
not to be concerned: he can rest assured that God will give him the right words
to express himself. It is a promise similar to that made by Jesus to his disci-
ples: he assured them of the Holy Spirit’s help when the time came for them to
bear witness to him (cf. Mt 10:19-20).

The assignment given to Jeremiah implies a heavy responsibility; he will need
fortitude if he is to carry it out (v. 10). It involves in the first place doing destruc-
tive things (plucking up, breaking down, destroying and overthrowing) and only
then come constructive roles (building and planning). St Gregory the Great will
apply the same idea to the attention that is called for in the pastoral care of the
faithful: “One cannot build up if what disturbs the foundation has not been des-
troyed. In other words, the sweet words of good preaching are sown in vain if
the thorns of self-love have not first been plucked from the hearts of listeners”
(Regular pastoralis, 3, 34).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.