The Sunday Gospel [March 6, 2011]
Matthew 7:21-27
Wise and foolish builders
[Jesus said to his disciples:] 21“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. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ 23Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ 24Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. 26And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
“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.” ~ Jesus in v. 21
Lou Gehrig, the famous homerun king of the New York Yankees’ baseball team, visited a hospital for crippled children just before a World Series game. He told the children in the ward, “You can do ANYTHING if you want it badly enough.”
Then a little boy who was a Yankee fan asked the great ballplayer to do him a favor, “Please knock two homeruns in today’s game.”
“Two homeruns in a World Series game is a lot to ask,” said Gehrig. But now he had to back up what he said about being able to do ANYTHING if you really wanted to do it badly enough. So he turned to the little boy and said, “I’ll make a bargain with you. I will knock two homeruns today if you promise me that you will walk again.” It was a deal; they shook hands on it.
Gehrig knocked his two homeruns that afternoon. But somehow, he never got around to going back to that hospital. One day, years later, he was entering Yankee Stadium when a tall young man stepped up and asked, “Do you remember me?”
Then the young man said, “Well then, look! I CAN WALK! I kept my half of the promise.” ~ Next 500 Stories
This story brings up the question: Have I kept my part of the deal with Jesus? Which ones have I not? The measure of our faithfulness can be gauged by the extent to which we have practiced it.
Reflection
“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.” ~ Jesus in v. 21
Lou Gehrig, the famous homerun king of the New York Yankees’ baseball team, visited a hospital for crippled children just before a World Series game. He told the children in the ward, “You can do ANYTHING if you want it badly enough.”
Then a little boy who was a Yankee fan asked the great ballplayer to do him a favor, “Please knock two homeruns in today’s game.”
“Two homeruns in a World Series game is a lot to ask,” said Gehrig. But now he had to back up what he said about being able to do ANYTHING if you really wanted to do it badly enough. So he turned to the little boy and said, “I’ll make a bargain with you. I will knock two homeruns today if you promise me that you will walk again.” It was a deal; they shook hands on it.
Gehrig knocked his two homeruns that afternoon. But somehow, he never got around to going back to that hospital. One day, years later, he was entering Yankee Stadium when a tall young man stepped up and asked, “Do you remember me?”
Then the young man said, “Well then, look! I CAN WALK! I kept my half of the promise.” ~ Next 500 Stories
This story brings up the question: Have I kept my part of the deal with Jesus? Which ones have I not? The measure of our faithfulness can be gauged by the extent to which we have practiced it.
Note: The Reflection is from Bro. Abel Navarro (you can visit his blog at http://myblogabelnavarro-abel.blogspot.com/)
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