December 2/First Thursday of Advent
“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
To those who do not inhabit the pew of a church on a weekly basis, the gap between the profession of the Christian faith and its enactment in daily life – that is, between words and actions — sometimes appears to be wide. Even those of us who are regular church-goers feel it, if we are honest. There can be too much distance between the principles of mercy, love, and peace to which we pay lip service every week and the actions we take every day, which may be far from merciful, loving, or just. It is not enough to chant the chants and pray the prayers; it is not sufficient to repeat the creed and sing the hymns; faith is not just a matter of believing, or even speaking, but of doing. And there is plenty to do in this darkling world. We bemoan the state of our schools, we lament the lack of affordable housing, we testify to the need for a more peaceful world – and while we may not be able to engineer major policy shifts, we can volunteer in those schools, or help build new housing, or model restraint and forgiveness in our daily lives. If we do not allow ourselves to be animated by our relationship with Christ and carry the spirit of his love into the world in concrete ways, we are missing the point. God wants more from us than good feelings and appropriate words. God wants real action. 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 discerning God’s will for our lives, and then bringing it to fruition.
Lord, May my actions in the world mirror the words with which I profess my faith, every day. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120121.cfm
To hear the St. Thomas Choir of Men and Boys sing “Come, Labor On,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nDoe-y02E
