Let Us Respond to Jesus 

Matthew 7: 21-27 tells us it is not those who just cry out, “Lord, Lord!” who will enter the kingdom of God, but only those who do the will of the Father. It is true that “in the Lord God we have an everlasting rock,” but this does us no good unless we build on it. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.” But those who do not base their lives on Christ’s words, those who do not act on them, “will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” 

Jesus came to fulfill all of God’s promises to the human race, to offer us total, all-satisfying fulfillment in this life and the next. But to be fulfilled by Jesus, we must fill ourselves with his words: read them, reflect on them, accept them as true and build our life on them. We have to let his words be made flesh in us in action. 

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6). He is the fullness of life for us, but only if we fully accept his truth and faithfully try, at least, to follow his way.  

If we intend to receive him into our daily lives, to make him welcome, to give him an active part in everything we do — in our home and school and social life, our business and politics — then we can say with true joy and celebration: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

Prayer Prompt: Respond to Jesus. During Advent, try to make at least one decision a day based explicitly and consciously on God’s word.  

— Fr. David M. Knight

View today’s Mass readings, Lectionary #178, on the USCCB website here

Fr. David M. Knight (1931-2021) was a priest of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, a prolific writer, and a highly sought after confessor, spiritual director, and retreat master. He authored more than 40 books and hundreds of articles that focus primarily on lay spirituality and life-long spiritual growth.