Soul Food Ministries

Please begin by reading Matthew 7:21-29 in your Bible. If you do not have one at hand, we have provided the text for you at the end of this reflection.

Our text presents the conclusion of the “Great Instruction” (a term used by William Albright and C. S. Mann in Matthew, Anchor Bible) to introduce the heart of Jesus’ instruction (Matt 5:3-7:20) to the crowds and his disciples.

Our text most likely represents a portion of a manual of instruction for baptismal candidates in the church during the time of Matthew. The text presents an ethical challenge to the hearer, reminding all that come to learn that the reception of the gospel message is not exclusively hearing of God’s grace, but includes a summons to ethical, moral behavior aligned with the reign of God.

The text is a reminder and a warning that the profession of faith, or even honorific titles, are no guarantee of God’s welcome. In fact to rely upon such to guarantee acceptance before God could have the opposite effect.

Who among us has not been told that he/she is judged by his/her walk more so than by his/her talk? Temptation abounds to separate the words of grace from the works of grace. Jesus warns of “false prophets” at work, persons who perhaps do “mighty works” yet whose personal lives do not conform to the judgment of Jesus.

For those in the early church as for us today, there is a mixed state in the church which should be a cause for great concern. There are too many in the church whose lives do not conform to their confession. In other words, their walk does not measure up to their talk. Genuine faith in Christ must be demonstrated in daily obedience to the way of life he proclaimed.

Righteousness is not the meticulous or literal interpretation of laws and orders, but faithfulness to the covenant relationship. Jesus reminds us that the faithful depend on God’s righteousness and their actions are conducted in a righteous manner following the example set by Jesus. For the faithful, welcome and security are promised, while others are consigned to permanent abandonment and destruction.

Jesus by his word, deed and the righteousness to God, not only fulfills the Law but is the living example for his disciples. To do the will of his parent in heaven sets the expectation for how we judge whether we are doing what is expected of us. We do the will of God when we express whole-hearted devotion to God, radical love for our neighbor, and care for those less advantaged than we.

The importance of fierce moral commitment and concrete moral action is the theme of Jesus’ stringent eschatological warning of the judgment to come. The story of the men who built on rock or sand reinforces this idea and gives us the equation of “doing the will of my Father” (7:21) with “hearing my words and keeping them” (7:24,26).

For us as disciples, this teaching outlines a course of behavior and actions which mark the “true disciple” and what “doing the will of God” is intended to mean.

The guest author of this week's reflection is the Rev. Gail S. Hicks. Gail uses the pen name "Maw Barker" because of her great love for dogs.

revclay

[Jesus said] “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.

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?'

“Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’

“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 came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. [NIV]