| Gospel (Mt 7.21-27) 21 Not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to me that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name drive out demons in your name perform many miracles in your name? 23 I will declare to them, I have never known: depart from me, you evildoers. 24 then who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 the rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it did not fall, it was founded on the rock. 26 everyone who hears these words of mine and not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. 27 fell the rain and the floods came, the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. " We are at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus presented the new Torah which is the fulfillment of the ancient. If you think back to the radical proposals of his moral (the beatitudes, the condemnation of divorce, accumulation of money and idolatry, the request to turn the other cheek, to love our enemies, to be perfect as your Father in heaven) is not surprising that his listeners are left not only astonished (Mt 7 28), but certainly also bewildered and lost. Their reaction is not different from that of Christians for whom Matthew wrote his Gospel and that of the disciples of today. For all the danger is to keep the listeners, admirers of the Master, not daring to put into practice what he taught. That's why Jesus concludes his speech with a stern warning : "Not everyone who says to me, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven "(v. 21). Who is? Disciples, is obvious. They are the ones who bestow the title of "Lord." In the Gospel of Matthew, the only outsiders call him "master" (Mt 8.19, 12.38). It is therefore within the Christian community, which can infiltrate the belief that it is enough lip service to Christ, which are sufficient impeccable religious practice, the performance of rites and dovozioni to enter the kingdom of heaven. Even James in his letter is concerned about this risk and the complaint so resolute: "Be of those who practice the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if one only listens and does not put into practice the words, like a man observing his natural face in a mirror: It was observed just goes away and immediately forgets it was. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not a forgetful hearer, but one that puts it into practice, they will be blessed in their doing "(James 1:22-25). Jesus is not condemning the small or large inconsistencies, weaknesses and frailties that accompanied all his life, even the greatest saints, but the false security of those who feel right with God because they profess their faith in Christ the Lord. in the following verses (vv. 22-23) is made an accurate description of these people who delude themselves to be disciples, not just rely on Jesus, calling him "Lord", but speaking on his behalf, perform actions extraordinary cast out devils, working miracles. For many miracles constitute conclusive confirmation of the sanctity of a person and the truth of what he teaches. It is a widespread belief that stems from the need to base their faith on conclusive evidence and is dangerous because it undermines the faith that is so reasonable, but can not be rationally demonstrated. Already the Old Testament calls for caution and recommended not to trust the signs and wonders why even the false prophets can do them (Deut. 13.2-6). It also says Jesus, "will arise false prophets shall show great signs and wonders" (Mt 24.24), was convinced of the seer of Revelation to the beast that recognized their ability to make "great wonders, to bring down fire from heaven "(Rev 13:13), even the Antichrist - ensures the author of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians - will occur" with all sorts of miracles and signs and lying wonders "(2 Thess 2:9). It is enough - I believe - to be wary of those who interpret the miracles as evidence. In the passage today Jesus means the only criterion for identifying those who belong to the kingdom of heaven, and who remains outside, not miracles, but the practice of God's will In the second part of the song (vv. 24-27) Jesus develops this theme with a parable: two men, a wise fool and the other, they decide to build their home, the first built on the rock, the second on the sand. Augustine identified the bad weather, which crashed into two buildings with the trials and temptations that they stagger the weak and fragile. The rainy season - he said - are the superstitions, the carnal desires of the rivers, winds the empty chatter. The verb in the future (in the original text is: "Will like a man ...") directed towards a different interpretation. This is not the vicissitudes and difficulties of life, but the decision of approval or condemnation that God will speak a day on the life of every man, declaring the success or failure. In the Bible, the images of rain and winds are used to describe God's judgment The fall of the waters of the flood showed what end awaits the wicked (Genesis 6-7), the prophet Ezekiel presented the sentence of God against his people as a "heavy rain", a "large hail," a "hurricane" that breaks down the work of those who built with mud walls (Ezekiel 13.10-16). Paul has a somewhat 'different, talks about the fire that will test the quality of the work of everyone: is the development of gold, silver, precious stones, while those made of wood, hay and straw will go up in smoke (1 Cor 3.12 to 17). rating for men is soft and shallow, like a light wind blowing, gently stroking the fragile buildings giving the illusion that they are stable and strong. The men - we know - will leave enchanted by appearances, and often did not appreciate what we value, inconsistent characters admire, even applaud those who deserve to be rejected. reflectors stage of this world, however, go out soon, the old days with more photographers in the ribs with the fans who call autographs, with the onslaught of the crowds disappear and what remains of a life played on the vanity and on the ephemeral ? The Judgement of God will be like a violent storm that will leave standing only the solid buildings, those based - says Jesus - on his word, the values \u200b\u200bproposed by him, on his Beatitudes. The call of the reflector is directed especially to those disciples who, having heard the word of Christ, set their lives on principles completely different, because the illusion of being a Christian participate in liturgies show, drawing-room discussions, devotional practices bigoted. Jesus asks each one a serious test of the solidity of the foundations on which is building the life. |
