“’Everyone therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock. And every one that heareth these my words, and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.’ And it came to pass when Jesus had fully ended these words, the people were in admiration at his doctrine. For he was teaching them as one having power, and not as the scribes and Pharisees.”
To hear the words of Jesus in His Scriptures, for this is the most sure guide in listening to the voice of the Lord, “He that is of God, heareth the words of God” (John 8:47), and do them likens you to someone wise. Jesus does not say “is a wise man,” but “is likened to a wise man,” for He is the wise man that builds His house, the Church. You are likened to Him in love when you live as He lived and love as He loved: “He that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6). It is only in the love of God in Christ Jesus that your house can stay strong, “For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 3:11). The rock is the Catholic Church, one, unified in teaching, whereas the sand represents the many scattered opinions that divide other belief systems and collapse or divide. Knowing truth, hearing her voice, and smelling her fragrance is something very pleasing to your Beloved: “Thy nose,” the ability to discern spirits of truth and falsehood, love and hate, “is as the tower of Libanus, that looketh toward Damascus” (Song 7:4). It is interesting to consider that Christ built His Church on the rock of Peter, and through centuries, persecutions, scandals, failures, times, it has always remained steadfast and one, always pointed towards her head, which is Christ: “He is the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18), always freely giving the light of truth and love to the world. Likewise, since your emergence from what held you in the past to being fastened to your divine Head by love: “Thy neck as a tower of ivory” (Song 7:4), it is to be expected that trials, scandals, failures, time, hatred, etc., will all emerge within and against you. Through failure you will learn His mercy, in trials you will know His strength, and though you cannot see it at the time, a magnificent love story that is your life is being written as you tend to your little corner of the divine vineyard: “The fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come” (Song 2:13), for in this building up of the Church, as small as your work may be, you are likened to the wise man that is Jesus. Because the Church cannot fall, with Jesus’ promise here and 2000 years of evidence testifying to this, so too can your love of God not fall when it is firmly planted in Christ, for it is a filial love of your Father that is more intimately intertwined than a parent and child: “Thou shalt call me father and shalt not cease to walk after me” (Jeremias 3:19); “The Lord hath said to me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7). “Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35); for your weaknesses, failures, everything about you is too loved for Him to let you go, therefore “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able” (1 Corinthians 10:13), for He hates to see you suffer, but endures what the devil throws at you that the love story that is being told in your life may be told for eternity: “And they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee” (Jeremias 1:19). Those seemingly great souls that are not founded on true love are brought down by temptations, trials, or error, that in being humbled and brought low they may appreciate that they are loved as a child is loved by a parent, not consequent on their work but simply because they are theirs. Thus, Mary sings joyfully: “He hath shewed might in his arm: he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble” (Luke 1:51-52), that the little may be great in love, because they know how loved they are: “for having lifted me up,” with great successes, “thou hast thrown me down” (Psalm 101:11), that you may know that it is simply because you are His that He loves you. Or the fall can be great when someone builds their life on something besides the love of God, exhibited by a life of love, and it is tragic to see a life built otherwise, be it on falsity, worldly success, one’s self, or pleasure, for those that build the houses of their souls on such foundations don’t know how loved they are. With this, Jesus ends His glorious discourse, which sums up the formula for the Christian life; by following these commandments, you will love not as the world loves, but as God loves. The crowd here sought Him in simplicity, and learned the one thing necessary to learn: how to love: “Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability: but the things that God hath commanded thee, think on them always, and in many of his works be not curious… In unnecessary matters be not over curious, and in many of his works thou shalt not be inquisitive” (Ecclesiasticus 3:22-24). They were filled with awe, because His teaching is so simple, so glorious, and so oriented to relentless love that it is unlike anything else that can be found in the world. Jesus carried Himself with a great confidence, because He knows perfectly how loved He is, and speaks with this same confidence and wisdom, unlike those who rely on the authority of others. In this is a great example that Jesus gives you: When you lean on His love and are confident in this same love: “Do not therefore lose your confidence, which hath a great reward” (Hebrews 10:35), you will speak from experience and from a place of joy, not having to cling to sayings but rejoicing in being the best, most loving version of yourself. Follow His ways, then, and let them carry you into a place of wholeness, for it is Love leading you gently by the hand, and life takes on a beauty beyond all other beauties when you let love be your guide.