Bishop Glen John Provost
Bishop of Lake Charles
Homily for the 9th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 7:21
"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" (Matthew 7:21). Jesus emphasizes that it is not just more important to do rather than to say but our entry into the kingdom of heaven depends it.
This was a consistent message throughout the Gospels. Later in the Gospel of St. Matthew, Jesus himself describes the final judgment. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory," He says, "and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him" (Matthew 26:31-32). And what will the judge say to those before Him? He will say to the saved, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father.... For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me" (Matthew 26:35-36). Those are what we as Catholics call in our catechism the corporal works of mercy. They are the criteria for judgment. This is what it means to listen to the words of Jesus Christ and to act on them.
When I visited the parishes for Confirmation, I asked those to be confirmed to know those works of mercy. They are important. What good does it do to say we believe in Jesus Christ and ignore those around us in need? What does it profit to speak of our love for Jesus Christ and not act upon that love? Then, indeed, we risk being "like a fool", in the words of our Lord, "who built his house on sand" (Matthew 7:26).
The Letter of St. James will endorse this lesson. "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?" (James 2:14). Faith and works are really part of the same reality. To say we believe has implications. Faith implies doing. The argument in St. James is worth quoting. "If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead" (James 2:15-17).
In short knowing the will of the Father in heaven and carrying it out is what it means to be Christian. That will is love, to love God above all things and our neighbor as we love ourselves.
So many have problems with knowing the will of God. They struggle with it. They say they don't know it, and ask how can they know it. I respond that if we are to be "like a wise man who built his house on rock" (Matthew 7:24), then we need to "go to" our "inner room, close the door, and pray to" our "Father in secret" (Matthew 6:6). Only when we enter into prayer with God will we know the truth. Only then will we see what it is we must do. The problem with those who struggle with the will of God is that they have never asked God what it is. They have never encountered the will of God because they have never met the truth.
Jesus is challenging us in the Gospel today. Not even those who have prophesized or drove out demons in his name should rest easy (Matthew 7:22). Doing the will of God requires more of us. Doing involves not just knowing and carrying out an act. Keeping a word is a commitment. This is why love fulfills the law. Always doing the will of God means taking the word into ourselves, cherishing it, reflecting on it, allowing it to challenge us, and ultimately acting upon it even when we feel uncomfortable about it. In short, listening to the word and acting on it is living with it and allowing it to transform us.