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+In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
“Jesus said, ‘Not every
one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew
7:21).
Last Sunday, when I spoke about
the Holy Spirit’s gifts given and received in the Sacrament of Confirmation
(having confirmed four people at the 10:00 am Solemn High Mass), I stated
that faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit as St. Paul teaches (I Cor.
12:9); and that, as he also teaches that “…no one can say that ‘Jesus
is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:3). The Holy Spirit
gives us both the gift of faith and the confession of our faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord.
Today, we hear Jesus say something
that we need to think about seriously. He says that “Not every one
who says to me,’ Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”―
meaning that lip service to Him (even when prompted by the Holy Spirit)
is not enough, and certainly doesn’t pave a path to Heaven. We are
to put words into action by doing the will of His Father which has been
revealed by Jesus who repeatedly said that nothing He said or taught
was His own, but rather expressive of His Father’s will, that it be
known.
In the Gospel passage today,
Jesus speaks of people who prophesy in His Name, cast out demons in
His Name, and do mighty works in His Name, but sadly are not known by
Jesus. He says in strong and disconcerting words to such people, “I
never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.” The implication is
that the lives they were leading were contrary to His will even though
they had spoken and acted in His Name.
Surely prophecy, exorcism,
and healing are good things, and they happened (as Jesus acknowledged)
by the power of invoking His Name, but some who invoked His Name were
not doing it for Him, were not rightly serving Him, didn’t know Jesus
and were not known by Him, and were not living godly lives – which
was a result of not serving Him and knowing Him.
He then goes in parabolic form
to speak of the wise man who built his house on rock, and because of
that foundation the house survived floods and beating winds. He speaks
of the foolish man who built his house on sand and how that house fell
down when the floods and winds came. He says that the difference between
the two house builders is that one man hears His words and does them,
and the other man hears His words and does not do them.
For you and me who say with
our lips “Lord, Lord” in our corporate liturgy and in our private
prayers, the two questions are: “Do we really know Jesus, and does
He know us?” and “Are we hearing and doing His words?”
I remember years ago being
at a Conference when a certain bishop was speaking. The Mother Superior
of a women’s religious order was sitting next to me. When the bishop
ended his speech, she turned to me and said, “Father, do you think
He knows Jesus?” Her question spoke of what she perceived ---
that this bishop did not know Jesus, and what He had said was the evidence.
If you’re like me, you are
uncomfortable and somewhat “offended” when a stranger uses your
name in a way which implies personal knowledge and a personal relationship,
as when a total stranger on the phone calls me “David,” or asks
for my first name for a restaurant’s waiting list for tables. You
all know that I value etiquette and signs of respect in church and society,
and I believe you do as well. How we speak to the Lord is, of course,
to be with the highest level of respect (or I should say, honor and
submission) which is why we aren’t to be casual, cavalier, or assuming
in how and what we say to the Lord. We come before Him with awe and
reverence, but we also come to and before Him knowing with His assurance
that He is infinitely approachable whatever our state or situation.
We know Jesus, and He knows
us when we have a relationship with Him that is consistent, deep, open,
honest, humble, trusting, and growing
– the same type of relationship we know is desirable and to be present
between spouses, between parents and their children, and with other
significant people in our lives.
How many times do wives, for
example, upon hearing their husbands say or reading the words on a card,
“I love you,” say in return or at least think, “I don’t really
know the love you profess for me,” or “I don’t think you really
know me.”
With our Lord, we are all to
be committed to a relationship of love with Him where we increasingly
know Him, and where He knows us as men and women whose words and prayers
are the real thing, not utterances that make us feel good, or from which
we hope to gain.
This is why daily prayer (spiritual
conversation with God) is essential. This is why we are to know what
Jesus has said and taught, and then to be renewed and motivated by grace
to live by what He said and taught. It is an act of will and desire,
fueled by grace.
When we invoke the Name of
Jesus in the life of the Church, as when clergy preach, teach, and act
in His name with the sacramental ministries of the Church, or when any
one of us prays and ends the prayer, “in thy Holy Name I pray,”
or “through Jesus Christ our Lord,” we must have a clear and pure
intention to mean and do what we are saying. Prayer and ministry require
the active use of the mind, and we are to use our minds to ask ourselves
if we believe what we say? If we don’t, then we are to seek spiritual
guidance and counsel from those whose faith is strong. We certainly
don’t want to stay in a place of doubt and little faith.
So let us all give thanks that
Jesus is Lord, that the Holy Spirit enables us to say and know this,
but let us all say what we mean, and mean what we say as those for whom
He died and rose. He is most deserving of that, and He in His desire
to be known and to know us tells us what we need to know.
+In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen.
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