In the 1st reading from Deuteronomy, God’s people must take His words and commands to heart. By doing so, they choose to follow God and receive His blessing. In St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, he says that we are saved by our faith in Jesus. It is this faith that makes our good works meaningful. In the Gospel from St. Matthew, Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount by saying, put my words into practice; in this way you build your faith on rock.

Reflection

It is said that practice makes perfect. We can always say we want to learn a particular sport, say badminton, but never make time to practice and learn it. Many times we fall below the things we know we should do or become. We make promises many times yet end up not keeping those promises. We see the right thing that needs to be done yet end up not doing them. Listening to the message of Jesus and how much God loves us, we can only be amazed with awe and say how marvelous it is. We can even give to God all the glory and praise He deserves. We can all proclaim our admiration of God’s greatness and power. Still, we fall short and remain mere admirers and spectators.

Jesus says to us today: I don’t need admirers. I don’t want analysts studying my words. I want faithful followers who will live and do my words in their lives. Yes, they may be difficult and challenging. But proclaiming what we believe means doing them in our lives. It means allowing them to color and influence the choices we make and the way we do things. Lip service is the lowest honor and praise we can give to the Lord.

Response

What needs practicing in our Christian Life? What virtue needs sharpening? What attitude needs work, either acquiring a better one or ridding ourselves of another? Practice of our faith, indeed, makes perfect.