Not all who say, “Lord, Lord”
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Gospel: Mt 7:21, 24-27
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120425.cfm
The kingdom of heaven is for those who participate in it. Jesus is calling us to be followers which goes beyond calling out to God in one’s time of need or for praise and worship. It is easy to call out to God in one’s suffering or praise God for answered prayers. In a way, these interactions are transactional. We call out because we want God to do something, and we praise God because we believe God did something.
Every relationship will have some form of transactions within it from time-to-time, but good and healthy relationships are more than that. Good relationships require us to know each other on a deeper level, empathize with each other’s struggles, learn and grow together, help each other in our time of need, enjoy each other’s company, and give each other grace through established trust.
To be a follower of Jesus cannot be a strict adherence to a purity code. God is not counting your sins for divine retribution. Sin is sin because it separates us from God and puts a distance between us and others. It’s not about the action but what it does to us. We can still distance ourselves from God while strictly following the law. God’s grace is not earned, it is freely given.
God doesn’t ask us to be worshipped in return for grace or answered prayers that would be transactional. God’s grace is given out of love without the expectation of anything in return. Our gratitude is a means of recognizing what has been done, and so is being a good steward with what’s been given. Gratitude and stewardship are not actions that elevate your place with God but are the responses of a person in the right relationship.
To do God’s will is to act in the same manner, and Jesus summarizes it simply by stating love your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. It’s not done by a scorecard of where there are measurements of how much you loved or didn’t love. The love is known and observed through the types of relationships you have with yourself, God, and others.
