Readings: Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church | USCCB 

What are “these words” that Jesus is referring to in our Gospel for today? We are at the end of Matthew 7, which means we are at the end of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, which spans chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. So, when Jesus tells us that we ought to build our house solidly by acting on “his words,” we can plausibly hold that he is referring to everything that has come before in that beautiful Sermon. What do we find there? We hear the Beatitudes, the prohibition against wrathful anger, and the commandment to love one’s enemies. We hear Jesus give us the Our Father and tell us not to worry, for our heavenly Father knows our needs. We hear him preach to us about the need to take the beam out of our own eye before presuming to judge the speck in our neighbor. And there is so much more.  

The Sermon on the Mount is truly the greatest homily ever given, and Jesus concludes it fittingly with these challenging words from today’s Gospel. He has told us how we are to live our lives; it is not enough for us to merely pay lip service to him, nor to merely call ourselves his disciples. We must strive to be so both in name and in deed. Too often, I think, people look at Jesus’ words in this sermon and remark at how rarely they see Christians live them out. This is a very sad reality, and one that ought to spur us to more fervent discipleship! Of course, the Lord knows that we are weak and fallen, and we should never become discouraged when we see how we don’t act on these words as we know we ought to. But in this Advent season, we have the wonderful opportunity to prepare for Our Lord’s coming, not by saying to him, “Lord, Lord,” but by seeking to put his convicting and life-changing sermon into action. 

Father Colin Jones, Formation Advisor at St. John Vianney College Seminary 

The Campus Ministry Seasonal Reflections are offered during the liturgical seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter. We bring a variety of voices from Students, Faculty and Staff. The perspectives expressed in these reflections are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Campus Ministry.