Be Prepared

Readings for Thursday December 2, 2010

First Reading: Isaiah 26:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 118
Gospel: Matthew 7:21, 24-27


“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.” (Mt. 7:24-27)

I remember over ten years ago when our world was obsessed with the Y2K scare. Everyone thought that the new millennium would be a complete catastrophe, or even worse the end of our civilization. Before the new millennium began, people began preparing for the worst; they were stocking up on food, water, generators, etc. I will have to admit that even I was a little curious and anxious to see what would happen when the clock struck midnight on New Years Eve. Much to many people's surprise nothing happened, except for the start of a new year.

It is funny how as people we try to be prepared for the worst. While many people try to prepare for disastrous things, how many of us are preparing for the typical challenges and hardships of our lives? The reality is that we all struggle with something (or many things). How do we respond to adversity? How do we get through the storms of life? In today's gospel, Jesus makes it clear to us that we have two choices in life: build our life upon a weak foundation of sand, or build it upon a strong foundation of solid rock. When we build our lives upon Christ, the strong foundation, then we create a stability in our life that prepares us for the worst. When we put all of our faith and trust into God, then we are never left disappointed. This does not mean that we will not experience the "rains and floods" of life, but when we do, we can be sure that we will still be standing strong with our Lord.

Many times in life we are told to prepare for the worst, and the worst is a life without God. Let us seek to grow closer to Him, to find the healing and comfort that only He can provide to us. Remember, this life will throw many things at us, but one thing that we can be sure of is that when our lives are built upon solid rock, we can survive and stand strong against anything.

Father above, we thank you and praise you for the gift of this day. Lord, thank you for all that you bless us with. Lord, you are so loving and merciful, please help us to share in this great love and mercy. Help us to be the disciples that we are called to be, trusting and always seeking your will. Lord, be our rock that we rely on at all times, and help us to never grow weary and veer from your path. We ask this all through Christ our Lord. Amen.