Mt 7:21, 24-27
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 21“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.
24“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25The 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. 26And 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. 27The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
WISE MAN, FOOL: In biblical thought, wisdom has a range of meanings. It can mean practical skills and qualities which a person can acquire in order to live successfully, or it can mean knowledge and power granted to the person by God which makes him transcend a purely earthly perspective.
Today’s Gospel pericope concludes Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7). Here Jesus is presented as a “lawgiver” like Moses and as a “wisdom teacher.” In the perspective of Matthew, Jesus brings from the storeroom of Israel the old treasures with which he combines the new things of the kingdom. In the Sermon on the Mount, we have the ethical foundation of the new covenant which Jesus inaugurates.
When Jesus finishes teaching, the crowds are spellbound by the authority of his words. But astonishment and admiration for Jesus are not enough. In the Gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples that they must ensure a solid foundation for their faith, one that stands the test of adverse elements. Listening is not enough; one must act. Saying is not enough; one must do.
Jesus draws from life’s experience to illustrate the point. The difference between two houses is not always visible: one without rock foundation can look just as solid as the one built on rock. It is the capacity to weather adversities that proves the solidity of the house and the wisdom of its builder.
The “wise” builder builds his house on solid foundation by being a good listener and a prompt and persevering doer of the will of God. In contrast, the foolish one is content with surface realities and with formal confession of piety. He is being “selective” in doing practices that please more himself rather than the Lord.