Standing on solid rock

Good News ReflectionThursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary TimeJune 25, 2009
Today's Readings:Gen 16:1-12, 15-16Ps 106:1b-5Matt 7:21-29http://www.usccb.org/nab/062509.shtmlAudio:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_06_25.mp3
Standing on solid rock
What storm is going on right now in your life? Are you standing firm? Or are you teetering on the verge of collapsing because your energy is drained, your faith is wavering, and fear is warning you of potential disaster?
In today's Gospel passage, Jesus says that if we hear his words — his truths, his commands, his way of doing things — but fail to put them into practice, the storms of life will knock us over. He never said that he would calm all of our storms. Suffering is part of the Christian life as we follow Jesus to and through the cross (after which always comes resurrection and ascension into greater glories).
In order to experience faith, peace, hope, joy and safety during the storms, we have to choose to stand on the solid rock of truth instead of the shifting sands of moral relativism. We won't find safety if we pull away from God by handling life OUR way. Whenever we fail to put into practice what Jesus taught, we put ourselves (and others) in danger.
We might think we've got a good reason to disregard a Church teaching, or we might rationalize that a sin is not a sin, but regardless of how stable the ground beneath us feels, we're choosing to rely on sand that gets leeched away by storms. No rationalization, no logic, no denial system can turn a beach into a boulder.
When a friend asks how you're doing, have you used the old cliché: "I'm hanging in there!" You probably say it with a scowl on your face. Well, what are you hanging onto? Why do you even need to hang onto anything? The reason why we feel insecure and afraid in the midst of trials is because "hanging in there" means that our feet are dangling in mid-air. Jesus told us to STAND firmly on the solid rock of truth.
Christians who build their faith on sand are those who claim that since God always loves us and forgives us when we sin, they can safely do whatever feels right. But sand-dwellers lose touch with his love rather quickly when times get tough. "Where is he now?" they wonder as they sink into the quicksand of despair and loneliness.
We learn to trust God's love in the storm only after we've first learned to trust him in the how-to's (the commandments for holiness) of everyday life. When you notice that your feet are sinking, or when you're falling into a pit that an earthquake has opened, or if you're losing your grip on the rainbow from which you've been hanging, identify which teachings of Christ you've been ignoring and then run to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
Yes God loves us even while we're still sinning, but our humble repentance and God's gift of grace, which we receive in this sacrament, plant our feet firmly back on the solid rock of truth.
© 2009 by Terry A. ModicaFor PERMISSION to copy any of my reflections, go to:http://gogoodnews.net/DailyReflections/copyrights-DR.htm
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