Only the One Who Does the Will of My Father

December 4, 2008

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Trust in the LORD forever! For the LORD is an eternal Rock. He humbles those in high places, and the lofty city he brings down; He tumbles it to the ground, levels it with the dust. It is trampled underfoot by the needy, by the footsteps of the poor. Isaiah 26:4-6

“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

Piety
Jesus, help us to stand firm on the right rocks. Help us to step forward for the right reasons.

Study

Toss a pebble in a pond and the ripples are seen rolling away. Toss a rock into Biblical history, and the ripples are felt for eons. The rocks we encounter today in the writings of the prophet Isaiah and the evangelist Matthew are just two of the important rocks we stumble upon in the Bible. Rocks in the natural world open up a pathway to the supernatural world. Moses brought water from a rock. Rocks in the natural world help us overcome the hurdles we face in the world. David killed his enemies with a rock.

Rocks are easy to visualize – and sometimes harder to pick up and remove. But their solid toughness lends an air of stability when used as a metaphor. Peter built the church upon a rock. Rocks identify the strength and steadfastness of God – the Rock of Israel (Genesis 49:24). Rocks may be either obstacles we face in the path to following Jesus or rocks may be stepping stones in our path of understanding of the Lord.

If faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains, how strong was the faith of Moses and David which moved nations? In praise, David recognized that it was not just an inanimate object on the desert floor that saved him but the Rock who is the Lord, the same Lord who helped Moses bring forth the water. And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer, my* God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; thou savest me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies (2 Samuel 22:1-4). This sentiment also is expressed in scores of Psalms.

The Hebrew Bible miracles gave way to the metaphors used in the New Testament to help people better understand the Word of God. Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; and like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and he who believes in him will not be put to shame." To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 1 Peter: 4-8

In Matthew 16:15-18, Jesus once again turns to the image of the rock the beginning of the church: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, * and on this rock * I will build my church, and the powers of death * shall not prevail against it.

Romans 9:30-33 uses the image of a rock as an obstacle…an obstacle over which we will stumble without the kind of faith exhibited by Moses, David and Peter. That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, righteousness through faith; but that Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; and he who believes in him will not be put to shame."

Action

Action alone is not enough. Jesus is not calling on “the one who does.” He wants the one who does for the right reason…to follow the will of the Father. Thy will be done. Many people perform good works for the wrong reason or for no reason at all. Like in this passage from Romans 9, today’s scripture reminds us that Jesus anoints those who do good works for the right reason…to pursue the “will of my Father.” They shall enter the Kingdom.

This is like the message we heard last year in our readings from the Gospel (Luke 6:46-49): "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? Every one who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid the foundation upon rock; and when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But he who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great."

Do well by doing good for the right reason.