On solid rock

Thursday, December 01, 2016 1st Week
of Advent
First Reading: Is 26:1-6
Gospel Reading:
Mt 7:21, 24-27

Jesus said to his disciples, “Not everyone who says to me “Lord! Lord!” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father”. “So, then, anyone who hears these words of mine and acts accordingly is like a wise man, who built his house on rock. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”

D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in
the Assimilated Life
Experience)

Jesus likens those who live by God’s Word as houses built on solid rock. Living by the Word of God presupposes a solid foundation because God’s Word pierces the heart challenging it to love unto death. There is no way of having it outside an intimate relationship with God. Build it on noble practices like the following: reconciliation, oblation, charity and kenosis (r.o.c.k.). RECONCILIATION: “Living by the word and not by the sword”. To live by the sword is to nurture a vengeful heart. To live by the Word is to be ready with forgiveness even while pursuing justice. The spirit of reconciliation goes with the passion to cultivate the right environment for it, such as an environment free from rash judgments.

OBLATION: Reconciliation’s noble reason. Reconciliation with enemies is a stupid proposition especially when we are the victims. It finds meaning only in the Lord. Only those who offer themselves up to God in self-oblation will persevere.

CHARITY: our identity. Central to the practice of the Word is charity since God’s Word pivots around the love commandment. If Christianity is our I.D. love should be our identity.

KENOSIS: becoming entirely receptive to God’s Will. When charity becomes the lifestyle, the result is the self-emptying of one’s own will and becoming receptive to God’s Will. This is called kenosis. Christ did it by partly renouncing his divine nature in the incarnation in furtherance of the Father’s Will. “Though he was in the form of God Jesus did not deem equality with God. Rather he emptied himself and put on the form of a slave being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6).

Constant practice of the “r.o.c.k.” will deepen our relationship with God enough to make us persevere when the Word will pierce our hearts and challenge us to love unto death. -(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM., MMExM., REB., Email: [email protected].
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