Saturday
It's always a good idea to read the Gospel passage before listening to or reading the reflection.
CLICK HERE to read today's Gospel
CLICK HERE to listen to this reflection on the 5 Minute Gospel Podcast
Our Gospel passage today from St Luke is all about words. Jesus speaks about our words and he speaks about his own Word. First, Jesus speaks about human words, when he says:
‘… a person’s words flow out of what fills the heart.’
Then he reminds us that the words we say are not always what we do:
‘Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?’
We all believe in Jesus and call him ‘Our Lord’. We know, however, that there are times when our actions do not match what we say we believe.
In using the image of a house built on sand and another on rock, Jesus challenges us to listen to his words and act on them.
Jesus wants us to dig and dig deep to lay the foundation of our lives on his Word. He wants us to let his Word penetrate deep into our hearts. As he said:
’A person’s words flow out of what fills their heart.’
The challenge for us today is to dig, and dig deep, to let Jesus Word fill our hearts; penetrate our hearts. Then our words, actions and attitudes will flow from him. Then we can produce good fruit. Then we can call Jesus, ‘Lord’, and do what he asks of us.
Today, we might hear Jesus asking us the question he asked of his disciples:
‘Why do you call me, ‘Lord’, and not do what I say?’
One reason may be that sometimes we leave Jesus’ Word on the surface of our lives. Sometimes, we fail to let Jesus’ Word penetrate our hearts and change our lives.
So what are we to do?
If we are to hear Jesus words, then we need to make time to listen to him.
We need to listen to Jesus in prayer: daily times of silence, alone with Jesus, sharing our lives with him. We just cannot do without daily prayer.
Another way of listening to Jesus is to read the Gospel every day. In the Gospel, we hear Jesus’ own words, speaking to us, teaching us and helping us. In reading the Gospel we hear Jesus and see how he lived and how he thought. Daily reading of the Gospel puts Jesus’ Word into our hearts – into our lives.
Jesus comes to us, in the most intimate and special way, in the Mass. As he did for the disciples, so in the Mass for us, Jesus opens the scriptures (his Word) and Breaks the Bread (he gives us himself).