A Solid Foundation
Scripture Matthew 7:21-27
Reading
Everyone who hears 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 beat on that house,
but it did not fall,
because it was founded on rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them
will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house,
and it fell – and great was its fall!
Reflection
This week’s Gospel invites us to check out our SPIRITUAL foundations. The parable of the house built on rock or on sand is a parable about the Self. Is my personality really founded on, rooted in the Person of Jesus? Or is my ego the foundation of my self and my life choices? I might choose to spend some time this week reflecting on my ‘foundations’. If I can dig deep into my psyche to discover there its present condition, I might want to make some changes and adaptations. Do I need to remove any clutter, excess baggage from the basement of my past? I will invite Jesus present there to heal any wounds of childhood that may still be contaminating my adult life.
One practical application of this Gospel can be a kind of early spring house-cleaning! Attend with love and mindfulness to some of the manual chores that are necessary around your home at this season. Prepare how you will decorate your home which can be seen as an ‘outer image’ of yourself. Root out the old attitudes, old values and create something new and meaningful that reflects the ‘new you’. The time spent with your ‘outer home’ being cleaned and renovated can be a symbol of the time spent restoring your ‘inner home’. Do all with awareness in gentleness and joy.
As a study practice, you might like to journal about this parable: “Do I hear God’s Word and put it into practice?” Allow the message of Jesus to sink deep into our inner beings. Ponder it as we move through the day’s activities and monitor our behaviors to see if the Word is enfleshed in our thoughts and actions. If we do, we will be filled with gratitude; if not, we can ask for the courage to change.
A wise person builds on the inner rock of Christ, not on the sand of ego. All of humanity is yearning for God to be born in the center core of their being. “No vacancy for God.” This is the time, Jesus says to get our inner spirit ready! Lay the foundations for your life on a solid foundation. Can we ponder: “Is there a vacancy for God to be born into my consciousness?” How do I live in the “vacancy” space? Am I comfortable with this emptiness, the poverty, the nothingness? Can I experience this vacancy as pregnant with life, with meaning? Or do I put up my “NO VACANCY” signs? Are the cares, distractions and the busyness of my life crowding out my God-coming awareness? Be still and see God in the neighbour’s need, the child’s sickness, the gift purchasing, the house and food shopping, the ordinary events of life.
Getting our inner and outer homes ready - with room for God - is central to Gospel discipleship. The loving ways that foster a Godly life will require mindful preparation and discipline. We need to check the foundations often! We can look at Mary, the first disciple, and see how she makes room for God. She prepares for his coming in many concrete ways. We too can allow this pre-Lenten season to be a time for discerning what is needed to make this Lent a spiritually enriching experience. Getting our minds and hearts ready for change can come through contemplative prayer and reflection on our present reality. Is there some sandy ground of my be-ing that needs some attention? Is there a crisis looming in some of my primary relationships? We need to go deeper and touch the rocky ground of our be-ingness where Christ is firmly rooted and planted in Love.
Some of us may need to spend a little more time and care getting our physical body ready to contain and live consciously as a member of the Mystical Body. Christ dwells in each one of us. Yes, our physical body is the matter in and through which the Holy Divine Child is born and dwells. We need to be strong and flexible enough containers to hold the Spirit of God. So, taking loving care of our bodies, mindful that they are “temples of the living God” is central to this spiritual life journey. It is interesting to note that “Bethlehem, the House of Bread," was the ‘foundation’ place for the birth of Jesus Christ. There in a rocky hillside cave in the little town of Bethlehem, the Son of God was born. We might recall this week some of our birthplace memories. What do we recall about the time, the place and circumstances of our birth? Were our birth-infancy foundations firm, deep and well-dug in the soil of faith and love? Or did we become uprooted and planted firmly in Christ in later life? We might wish to pray for inner healing for ourselves and our family members. “Come Lord Jesus, come."
Jesus speaks to “everyone who hears these words and acts on them” as the wise men and women who will be able to sustain the ‘winds and storms’ and trials of life. Jesus reassures us that those whose lives are built on the rock of Christ, whose foundations are sure and steady; they have nothing to fear. We might want to create some open spaces, some pauses in the rhythm of our days and go inward and deeper in our reflections this week. We can learn to quieten our inner being, our household. Relax after the day’s work and the responsibilities at home. Be still. Be silent. Ask nothing. Say nothing. Let your God love you. It is so comforting to know that God already loves you, cares for you, beholds you, blesses you, fills you with abundance and promises to abide with you always. What a rock foundation that is! The joy of this awakening calls for celebration! The LOVE you have come to experience within you will overflow into a communal celebration with family and friends.
“My house shall be a house of prayer,” are words Jesus spoke to his disciples as his earthly ministry was coming to a climax in Jerusalem. We need to know that our self=our house must stay grounded in the Rock of Christ, who is our strength and our refuge! YOU are needed to be-in-the-world as a person firmly attached to Christ. To be this, we need to keep our body-mind-spirit as a strong and flexible container for the Holy One, God. It is always helpful to examine our hearts to see who/what are ‘those thieves and robbers’ that get into our house-of-prayer from time to time and threaten our balance and spiritual direction? We can ask Jesus-within to cast them out. Be set free. Stand firm calling upon Christ.
Our spiritual work this week becomes then that maintaining our balance as we keep our inner and outer ‘home’ in order. If we daily sweep away the clutter, the excess, the tensions, the unnecessary in our homes and lives we will be more prepared for the ‘winds and storms’ that come and stress us and shake us around. There may be old values, outworn attitudes or even material possessions that we have outgrown and are contaminating our present lives. We long for simplicity, freedom from clutter and noise. Be still and know that I am God. Let us spend some time enjoying the inner chambers of our deep interior SELF. Yes, “there are many rooms in my Father’s mansion.” (John 14:2) God desires to LIVE within us. Allow God to occupy all the rooms of our personality, from the basement to the attic! May we radiate the light and beauty of the divine indwelling to all those around us.
Carrying Grace Christ is the firm foundation of my life.
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