9th SUNDAY IN ORDINAR Y TIME (A)

“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.

Mt 7:21-27

COMMENTARY

“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.”

The meaning is: It is not enough to say to me: “Lord, Lord.” There is need to do the will of my Father.”

To say: “Lord, Lord” is not bad in itself. However, one must see something concrete in one’s life.

In Matthew the expression “will of the Father” has two meanings: (1) God’s plan of salvation; and (2) All that is required in one’s daily conduct. Here the second meaning is meant.

Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

On that day refers to the Day of Judgment when the glory of God will be manifested and for man the day of punishment or reward.

Here Jesus warns his disciples who perform cures and exorcisms in his name BUT lead evil lives. They will be punished.

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

In Matthew ‘acting on the words of Jesus’ is not merely an external action NOR an interior feeling. It means the involvement of the whole person: one’s mind and heart.

The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.

In Palestine a strong rain is usually followed by a flash flood that destroys everything in its wake.

In summary, Jesus tells his disciples that (1) there must be coherence in what they say and in what they do; and that (2) they must put into practice the teachings that they have heard from Jesus.

FOR LIFE

The Bible insists on “doing”. For instance, the book after the Gospel of St. John is entitled, “Acts of the Apostles”. It relates what the Apostles did, not what they thought, not what they wanted to do.

When Jesus spoke about the Last Judgment (Mt 25), those who will be rewarded will be rewarded because of what they did. “Whatever you did to the least of my brothers, you did it to me.” And those who will be punished will be punished because of what they failed to do. “Whatever you failed to do for the least of my brothers, you failed to do for me.”

Again speaking about punishment, Jesus said: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” In other words, your actions tell what kind of person you are. And that is why actions are important. And that is why it is not enough to say good things. We also have to do good things. It is not enough to listen to the teachings of Jesus. We must also put them into practice.

But do you know that Martin Luther had a problem about doing good, about good works? And because of that he wanted to remove the Letter of St. James from the New Testament. Why? Because St. James was insisting on works while St. Paul insisted on faith and not on works. St. Paul taught that it is not works that will save you, but faith. But there is no contradiction.

St. Paul was right when he said that it is faith that saves. But St. James was also right when he said that works show that you have faith. He wrote: “So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Indeed someone might say, "You have faith and I have works." Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (Js 2: 17-18).

Faith is like the root and works are the fruits. In other words, your good works must be the result of your faith. If your good works is not the result of your faith, it is worthless in the eyes of God. For example, someone may launch a campaign against drugs, not because of his faith in Jesus but only because he wants to get elected.

What can we do so that we are not only good at saying good things but also good at doing good things? What can we do so that we do not only listen to the teachings of Jesus but also put them into practice? I suggest two things:

(1) When you listen to the first reading or the second reading or the gospel or the homily, ask yourself three questions:
- What is that one thing I will do because of what I have heard? Or
- What is that one thing that I will stop doing because of what I have heard? Or
- What is that one thing I will continue doing because of what I have heard?

(2) Make a daily examination of conscience. At the end of the day, look at how you have behaved during the day.
- If you have behaved according to the teachings of Jesus, offer that day to him.
- If you have behaved in a way contrary to the teachings of Jesus, be sorry for it and make a resolution to do better the following day.

Ang Kristiyano ay hindi lamang magaling sa salita. Magaling din siya sa gawa. Hindi lamang siya nakikinig. Siya rin ay gumagawa.