Ninth Sunday of the Ordinary Time Homily Year A

NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR A

Building on rock

INTRODUCTION AND CONFITEOR

In today’s Gospel Christ says that it is not enough to listen to his words, we have to put them into practice. To put them into practice is to build the house of our lives on a rocklike foundation.

But do we seriously try to build our lives on the words of Christ? [Pause]

Lord, you tell us to put our trust in God our Father rather than in money and possessions. Lord, Have mercy.

You tell us to treat others the way we would like them to treat us. Christ, have mercy.

You tell us that the most important thing in life is to do the will of the father Lord, have mercy.

HEADINGS FOR READINGS

First Reading (Deuteronomy 11:18. 26-28, 32). Moses exhorts the people to obey the commandments of God, and promises that if they do so they will be greatly blessed.

Second reading (Romans 3: 21-25.28). St. Paul tells the Romans that they have been made friends of God through his grace rather that through their own efforts.

Gospel (Matthew 7: 21-27). Christ makes a wonderful promise to those who carry out his teaching. He says to do so is to build the house of one’s life on solid rock.

st Reading – Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28, 32

¹⁸ Therefore, take these words of mine into your heart and soul. Bind them on your arm as a sign, and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.

²⁶ See, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:

²⁷ a blessing for obeying the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I give you today;

²⁸ a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, but turn aside from the way I command you today, to go after other gods, whom you do not know.

³² be careful to observe all the statutes and ordinances that I set before you today.

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 31:2-3AB, 3BC-4, 17-18

R. Be a rock of refuge for me, o Lord.

² In you, Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me;
^3AB incline your ear to me;
make haste to rescue me!
R. Be a rock of refuge for me, o Lord.

^3BC Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to save me.
⁴ For you are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
R. Be a rock of refuge for me, o Lord.

¹⁷ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your mercy.
¹⁸ Do not let me be put to shame,
for I have called to you, Lord.
R. Be a rock of refuge for me, o Lord.

2nd Reading – Romans 3:21-25,28

²¹ But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets,

²² the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction;

²³ all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.

²⁴ They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus,

²⁵ whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by his blood, to prove his righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,

²⁸ For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Alleluia – John 15:5

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
⁵ I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel – Matthew 7:21-27

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.

²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’

²³ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

²⁴ “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.

²⁶ And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.

²⁷ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

HOMILY

Christ urges us to build our lives on his words and assures us that, if we do so, then we are building them on solid rock. But in today’s world we hear a lot of other voices, telling us to build our lives on values that are clean contrary to those of Gospel. These combine to tell us something like this:

‘You want to get on in life, you want to succeed, don’t you? Well then, here are some of the pillars on which you must build.

‘1. Look after yourself. If you don’t, nobody else will. Follow every path that advances your interests, enhances your status, increases your bank account, and raises your standard of living. Never ask whether something is right, only if it benefits you.

‘2. Be ambitious. Aim at getting to the top of ladder. This means that on occasions you will have to throw tour weight around, which means that people will get hurt. But don’t let this rob you of any sleep. It’s all a rat race anyway. Everybody is out for themselves. Only fools stop to help others.

‘3. Mix with right people. Hob-nob with the people who matter, the ones who can pull strings for you. This may mean that you will have to grease a few palms, but it will be well worth your while. However, don’t neglect your cronies either. Be kind to them and hopefully they will return the compliment. But do not concede as much as an inch to your opponents. Otherwise they will take advantage of you and get ahead of you.

‘4. Keep up the right image, even if it means living beyond your means. The image to cultivate is that of the successful person, the person who is on the road to great things. Even when things are far from well, keep smiling and keep the image bright.

‘5. Do not hesitate to raise your hat to religion and to God if you have to By this I mean, Keep up the facade of outer observance if it enhances your respectability. But do not let your religion rob you of as much as a single one of your comforts or pleasures, or interfere in the slightest way with your standard of living.

‘These are some of the pillars you should build on. There are others, but these should suffice to see your fortunes soar, and your house to rise steadily.’

But Christ says very different things to us. He says:

‘What’s the most important thing in life? To live well, right? Well then, if you want to be a person of integrity, if you want to live rightly, build on the following pillars.

‘1. you are not a rat, nor do you have to behave like a rat, You are a child of God. The most important thing about you is your capacity for goodness. Blessed are those whose neighbours are as dear them as themselves.

‘2. Make sure that, If you succeed in raising your status, you raise yourself too. What sins does it make if you work hard at making a living and advancing your career, If you don’t work at your character? What does it matter if you are always in the limelight, if your soul is in darkness? What does it matter if your Bank account is bulging, if your heart if empty? Empty of those things which make life worthwhile, things such as love, Joy, and peace.

‘3. Take care of your conscience .If you live without a conscience, Can you still call yourself a human being? If you trample on and betray your fellow human being without a sense of revulsion, have you not betrayed yourself? Have you not sold your soul? Have you not allowed your heart to become corrupted? Is not the latter the worst calamity that can befall a human being?

‘4. Do not be afraid of sacrifice. If your sole aim is to grab as many pleasures as possible out of life, you are living at a very low level, and you are doing a terrible injustice to yourself. Of what use is it to have roamed the world if you are living in a spiritual cellar? Without sacrifice and struggle you can never grow up and discover who you are.

‘5. Be faithful to your promise and obligations. To live loosely is to discover one day, Sooner or later, that you haven’t anchored your boat to anything solid. When the storm strikes you will find that you are alone and adrift. Fidelity is a beautiful thing. It is a precious stone, a true gem.

‘6. Do not be ashamed of your beliefs and values. Without a belief in God, without standards and values, without belies and convictions, you are no better that the captain of the ship which has no rudder, compass, or port of destination. How can anyone be happy who misses the whole purpose and meaning of life?

These are some of the pillars which Christ says we should build on. But we have to do them. We have to act on them. Otherwise we are building on sand.

‘A crippled conscience is as irretrievable as a lost life’ (Solzhenitsyn). ‘The whole world can be yours without paying for it or robbing anyone’ (Thoreau).

PRAYERS OF FAITHFUL

Let us pray for the wisdom, courage, and strength to be able to build our lives on the values of the Gospel. R. Lord, hear our prayer.

That all believers may be conscious of their dignity as children of God, and strive to live up to that dignity. [Pause] Let us pray to the Lord.

That all political and civil leaders may strive to be faithful to their responsibilities. [Pause] Let us pray to the Lord.

For those who cannot or will not see beyond the values of this world, and who have no thought or hope of the eternal life Christ promised. [Pause] Let us pray to the Lord.

That we may not be afraid to face sacrifice, Struggle, and pain, for there is no other road to growth and maturity as followers of Christ. [Pause] Let us pray to the Lord.

For local needs.

Let us pray:

Father, the values taught us by Christ your Son are sure stepping stones to your everlasting Kingdom. Help us to follow them with steadfastness and courage. We ask this through the same Christ our Lord.