December 1, 2022

Matthew 7:21,24-27

Our Lord says in today’s gospel “It is not those who say to me, “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

A question that is asked in the study of the gospels is “where these the actual words of Jesus.” I thought everything in the gospel was from the mouth of the Lord. But no, literally genre reveals to us that some words were put on the lips of Jesus. That however is another topic which I would like to discuss with you some other time. For now, what is your opinion? Do you think the words above were from the lips of Jesus? Or could it be that these words are meant for the early church that is growing at a rapid pace. Many are walking around claiming Jesus to be Lord because it gets them somewhere, it is a convenient claim. The trouble is there is not enough evidence to convict them as Christians. That is the question which you and I should ask ourselves. If we were to be on trial for being a Christian, would they find enough evidence to convict us?

It is not enough to say Lord, Lord or I belong to this church or that church. It is about DOING the WILL of the Father. I have to put this in the language of my folks in Lebanon Kentucky. Melissa in Lebanon once said to me “Father, some people don’t come to church because of people who come to church.” Now here is the kicker, I suspect you know someone who makes that statement true. What if, we don’t look over the shoulder but within and ask ourselves if that could be me. In religious life we call this the examination of conscience. We all do it before confession, we ask ourselves if our actions reflect our faith. Advent is a good time to examine ourselves, not others.

Back to the actual words of Jesus. It took great courage in those days to call Jesus of Nazareth LORD. There was one lord back then and his name was Caesar. To say Jesus is Lord historically was tantamount to treason. It was a revolution, it was inviting the wrath of Rome into your life. Remember, people lost their heads for this proclamation. Just something to think about. Let me end with these wise words from St. Francis “PREACH ALWAYS, WHEN NECESSARY USE WORDS.”

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November 30, 2022