When You’re on the Rocks

Reflection on Matthew 7:21, 24-27

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.

"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined."

December 5, 2024

As I reflected on the readings for today, one word stood out: rock.

In our times, we use the word "rock" in many different ways. In music, rock ‘n’ roll, classic rock, or rock out. When someone is dependable, we say they are rock-steady. An immovable object is solid as a rock. When I’m hard-headed and lack understanding, I’m a rockhead. We can find ourselves between a rock and a hard place or even in a strained relationship that is on the rocks. In boxing, there’s Rocky Marciano, Rocky Graziano, and Rocky Balboa. And of course, no one wants to rock the boat.

Today’s readings speak of building the foundation of a house on the rock. I’ve never built one, but it seems like the most important part of a house is its foundation, and so building the foundation of our home on rock is wise.

And of course the bedrock of the Church is Peter, upon which the jaws of hell will not prevail, as Christ proclaims in Matthew’s Gospel. Peter was willing to trust in Jesus, and Jesus trusted Peter. Of course Peter had his down times, especially at Calvary, but Jesus never lost faith in Peter, and he wouldn’t allow Peter to lose faith in himself, and so he came back—we call that conversion, and the rest is history.

At the moment of our own conception, God called us. At the moment of our baptism, he commissioned us. And in our own place, time, context, and vocation as fathers, we are called to be Christian rocks because Jesus trusts us. And if we fail or sin or fall, Jesus still calls us. If we feel that we are at a point of trouble, Jesus says, “Fear not; I make all things new. I am the rock of ages.”