NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR "A"

Ninth Sunday of Year "A"

Mt 7, 21-27: Building on Rock

Last Sunday’s Gospel carried the message of Jesus that we should not be worried about the type of food we eat or the style of clothing we select. Eat and dress simple, and don’t be fussy. Be like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. That is where the comparison with the birds and flowers begins but also ends.  We cannot be like the birds and flowers all the way. Birds, for instance, are irresponsible: they’ll remove a whole ear of wheat, eat a few grains and leave the rest to rot. And they are not answerable to anyone. Birds are birds, but humans are human. Birds and animals do not have to answer to a higher power for their actions. After all, they were never charged with nature’s development. We men and women have inherited important duties from our forebears and will hand on our achievements and failures to the next generation. The oft-asked question is shall we leave them a more beautiful world or a world deprived and depraved?

We can address Jesus as “Lord Lord” as long as we mean it with all our heart. We can build this earth, work to make it a healthier and more secure place, but our building plan must be approved by our God, and our building work monitored by the divine Spirit. No corruption must be allowed into our labour.  If it does, our building will collapse, like the house built on sand. Too much sand and less cement; you know what happens when building contractors are corrupt. Real life tells us that it is not the fear of the superior or the police that gets daily workers and professionals out of bed in the morning, but pride in a job well done. It is the satisfaction of giving service to others, making a contribution to society, being creative, answering the call of duty, cooperating and making friends with people of like mind. Human beings are hard-wired, if anything, to be social animals. Their own well-being depends on the well-being of the group – of the community they belong to, whether family, firm, tribe neighbourhood or country. Indeed it depends on the common good

In the Book of Genesis, Yahweh ordered Adam and Eve to labour and earn their livelihood by the sweat of their brow. St. Paul advised the Thessalonians who must have had many lazy people around, “I gave you a rule when I was among you not to let anybody have anything to eat who is unwilling to work.” In our own country there is a lack of what we call the “work ethic”. Laziness, escapism, sub-standard and slipshod workmanship that can even endanger human lives. Greed and self-centredness rule the day. The last few years have witnessed financial recession and bankruptcy. Banks could not pay out cash even from people’s saving accounts. Many people have lost their jobs and homes. Financial establishments, corporate and government officials have been spending money extravagantly. You know the situation, if not the details.

Influential people and even economists are calling for a return to moral values in economic restructuring. In building a better world for ourselves and for the future generations we must keep intact our link to our Creator and his values. You remember the late President John F. Kennedy. The day President Kennedy was shot dead in Dallas on November 22, 1963 he was to deliver a speech in which he was going to quote the prophet Isaiah who told the builders of the city: “Unless the Lord build the house they labour in vain to build it.” The present Archbishop of Westminster is Archbishop Vincent Nichols. In November last year he called for re-inserting the virtues of justice, prudence, temperance and fortitude in the rebuilding of society. Allow me to quote a few lines. “An important part of our recovery as a society will be achieved through the practice of these virtues. Then we will build the trust which lies at the heart of human relationships. This is what the vast majority of ordinary British people instinctively want, to belong to a world in which people care for one another. At a profound level, they care more for quality of life than for the value of property. The acquisition of virtue begins best within the family.”

I shall end with a short quotation from the Second
Vatican Council (G & S art. 35): A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that men do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, and a more humane ordering of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about.” 

In His Hands (Ps. 31)

My steps, my times, my plans, Lord, are daily in your hands—
as a yielded servant, I wait on Your command.
I want to seek your kingdom and have You reign in me—
so I can live before You as one who’s been set free.
I cast my cares upon You and trust You for each day—
I want the way You planned for me to be what I obey.
I have no expectations, there only is Your will—
no need to strive or worry, my heart needs to be still.
As I learn about You, I’ve come to realize—
You do so many little things that take me by surprise.
Each day is an adventure as I set my heart on You—
my heart’s in constant wonder as I see the things You do.
I’ll let You do Your work, Lord, please have Your perfect way—
Thank You for Your mercies that are new for me each day!