Reflections on Scripture • 12-7-23 - Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Gospel Matthew 7:21, 24-27 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. "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.” ReflectionTo listen to the words of Jesus is to listen to the words of the Father. What He longs for us to be is like his son. And when one understands that it begins to do the things that Jesus did to heal, to forgive, to support, to tend, to care, they become like a very strong force. They cannot be buffeted or blown away by any wind of a different way of seeing or any criticism. They are solid. That's the key to create around you a house that protects you from all the other influences that come our way. And we know that there is one way, the one way that Christ has taught us the way of love. That's our challenge. To be rooted and grounded. Built on rock, on that very simple core teaching of the gospel. God is love, forgiveness, care, hope, beauty. Closing PrayerFather, one of your miracles was to allow people to hear, to open their ears, to listen, and then open their heart to let the message penetrate there and remain there. That's our house of you living inside of us. With you and us in this safe place, we're capable of doing all that we're called to do no matter what the criticism, no matter what the difficulty. Lots of other forces work against this. But when we're solidly connected to you and you are in us, we are the house that cannot be destroyed. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices