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Is Dt 11:18, 26-28, 32
Rom 3:21-25, 28
Mt 7:21-27
The readings today reveal the theme that the grace by which we are freely justified (2nd reading) leads to a life of obedience, and that obedience is linked to life. By following the Lord’s commandments (1st reading) and by doing the will of the Father (Gospel), God’s people flourish, withstand the trials of life, and ultimately inherit the life that never ends.
The first reading comes from the 11th chapter of Deuteronomy; its theme is repeated in the well-known “Choose life” passage of Deuteronomy 30.
The scene of the judgment given in Matthew 7 raises a distinction which at first is surprising. One might think that those who exercised gifts of prophecy or exorcism knew the Lord and were close to him. But it is not the gifts one is given or the skills one has that make him holy. It is obedience, union with the will of God.
We see striking examples in the culture of death where the external symbols of Christianity coexist with actions that take human lives. Often, a cross or other Christian symbol has been seen hanging from the rear view mirrors of cars heading into abortion facilities. The challenge of today’s readings focuses on allowing the externals of our faith shape our interior lives, and the source of our decisions.
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