Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. – Matthew 7:24

       Take a stroll in the cemetery and you will realize that it’s not just a place filled with dead people; it’s also filled with dead dreams, buried without being fufilled. One reason why these dreams, visions, goals and plans remained figments of the imagination is because they were never put into action.

       Every vision needs to be turned into action constantly for it to become a reality. The dreamer needs to have a bias for action. The visionary doesn’t just ask in faith, but acts in faith, because the extraordinary moves of God begin with ordinary acts of obedience. So if you have a dream, act on it by building specific daily habits that inch you closer to it. Because success is everyday execution and action attracts abundance.

      The same goes with the Word of God. It can’t remain just a cute concept in our heads that we share on social media. For it to transform our lives, we need to act on it. We need to apply it in our lives.

    I heard a preacher once said, “Blessing is God’s department; obedience is ours.” Mike Viñas (mikemichaelfcv@yahoo.com)

Pope Francis Says: “Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of one’s life.”

Jesus, teach me not just to be a hearer of Your Word, but a doer.

The Book of Kings seems to be a litany of the faults of the kings. As we grow as disciples of Jesus, let us open our hearts to the transforming love of God which helps us to realize that true fulfillment is found in righteous and holy relationships.

8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta, daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his forebears had done. 10 At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, himself arrived at the city while his servants were besieging it. 12 Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother, his ministers, officers, and functionaries, surrendered to the king of Babylon, who, in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive. 13 And he carried off all the treasures of the temple of the Lord and those of the palace, and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel, had provided in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had foretold. 14 He deported all Jerusalem: all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None were left among the people of the land except the poor. 15 He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon, and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon the king’s mother and wives, his functionaries, and the chief men of the land. 16 The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon all seven thousand men of the army, and a thousand craftsmen and smiths, all of them trained soldiers. 17 In place of Jehoiachin, the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king, and changed his name to Zedekiah.

Psalm 79:1-2, 3-5, 8, 9

R: For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

1 O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. 2 They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of heaven, the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. (R) 3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them. 4 We have become the reproach of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. 5 O Lord, how long? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire? (R) 8 Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low. (R) 9 Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name. Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. (R)

The Church needs men and women of action. Words are easy to say but the actions that back them up are more costly and more important to holiness. Not that everyone has to preach in the market square or minister to the sick and dying. Some might be called to a ministry of intercession. This is just as important because without prayer, the so-called “frontline ministries” will lack power.

Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

21 Jesus said to his disciples: “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. 22 Many 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?’ 23 Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ 24 Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The 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. 26 And 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. 27 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” 28 When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

think: The Church needs men and women of action.5

Thank You Lord for: __________________

WORDS OR DEEDS? SCRIBES OR JESUS?

Finally we arrive at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. The lesson today has a very clear and unmistakable impact. In the end, it’s all a matter of doing, putting into practice, and living out the teaching.

       If yesterday we were reflecting on the necessary fruits to back up or prove our worth, today’s Gospel lesson is even more concrete. We said, “fruits, not roots.” Today we say, “deeds, not words.”

       It’s the doing that counts more. Doing is what guarantees a strong and solid foundation in our life. Doing sees to it that we are not stuck with mere good intentions and noble aspirations. With doing, everything is translated into reality, capped unto completion, and brought to fruition.

   The opposite is horrible: disaster, catastrophe and calamity. Metaphorically speaking, it’s even worse than earthquakes and typhoons, capsized ferries, and flooded streets. The spoken words have been rendered in vain or have come to naught. What a pity!

       Of course, Jesus is our example and master in this case. He knew perfectly well the value of words, and He did not hesitate to speak and teach. But more importantly, He gave witness to His own words. He backed them up with concrete deeds of love and compassion, forgiveness and healing. We therefore understand and appreciate the last verse much better: “The crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”

       Those of us, especially in the ministry of teaching and preaching, would do well to examine and ask ourselves: Are we mere “scribes” of the people? Or are we like Jesus to them? Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB

REFLECTION QUESTION: Do your actions reflect what your faith dictate?

Help me live out the words that I profess, O Lord. Amen.