Firm Foundation

Readings for Tuesday July 13, 2010

First Reading: Isaiah 7:1-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24


Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field, and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son Remaliah, because of the mischief that Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, plots against you, saying, "Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there."
Thus says the LORD: This shall not stand, it shall not be! Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin is the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah's son the head of Samaria.
But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm! (Is 7:3-9)

Imagine you are building a house. You have the plans all drawn up, you have all the materials, you have all the help you will need, and of course the perfect space for your house to built upon. Now obviously, since you are building a house, the first thing that you want to do is lay a foundation. What would you use for a foundation ... sand, gravel, marshmallows? Of course not, you would use concrete to lay a solid foundation. Because without a firm foundation, your house will not stay standing.

"Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!" These are the words of the prophet Isaiah in today's first reading. We recognize the importance of a firm foundation when it comes to building a house, but when it comes to our lives, sometimes we don't see the importance of a firm foundation. And what is it that the foundation of our lives should be built upon? One of the things is faith. If our faith is strong, then we will be strong. It is our faith in Christ that keeps us going, it is our faith that helps us to have courage and to persevere in this life. If we do not know where we stand, then we will fall for anything. We must stand with the Lord, we must build our lives around Him.

If we are willing to build our life around the Lord and to truly believe in Him and to follow Him no matter what; then we will have a firm foundation. If we have a firm foundation of faith, then we ourselves will be firm.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you have blessed us with. Lord, help increase our faith so that we will not hesitate to follow you where ever you may lead us. Help us to be firm in this life by having a firm foundation. Lord, you are our rock and our salvation, help us never to stray away from you. We pray for all those who are spiritually lost and fallen away, may they find peace in your arms. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.