December 3/First Thursday of Advent
Jesus said to his disciples: “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.” ~ Matt 7.21
How quick we are to trust in our own righteousness. We quietly congratulate ourselves on the faithfulness of our worship, the rectitude of our vote, the piety of our prayer, our generous support of certain charities. We strive to think and speak “correctly,” whatever that may mean in our respective spheres, about the injustices and evils of the world around us. And as believers, we invoke the name of the Lord to heal a world that desperately needs it. But as Jesus makes crystal clear in today’s Gospel, right-speaking and right-thinking are not enough. We must act, and we must act in accordance with the will of God, not our own will. In a challenging article in a recent issue of America magazine, the author Elizabeth Grace Matthew, writing on the topic of race and racism, took aim at the posture of cheap righteousness that many of us adopt by “feeling right” on these matters. “Feeling right,” she commented, “is not an accurate barometer for either thinking right or doing right.” We bemoan our inadequate schools and food deserts, we lament the lack of attainable housing in our towns and cities, we speak of the need for a more just society — but what are we doing to address these ills? While at times the forces that shape our world may seem beyond our influence, leaving us helpless before history, there is always something we can do in our families, our neighborhoods, our cities, to work towards the kingdom of God. Saying and praying the right things is a start, but we must also do the right thing, which means surrendering to God’s will for our lives, and then acting on it.
Loving Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace, your love, and your holiness in the world. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120320.cfm
To hear The Sensational Nightingales sing “When We Walk with the Lord,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55e8unH7Tdw
