URC Daily Devotion 21 December 2024

St Luke 6: 46 – 49

Jesus said: ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.  But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’

Reflection

Doing what the Lord tells us creates strength and resilience.  We may not feel strong or resilient, but when we face a catastrophic onslaught we discover, to our surprise, that we have the strength and resilience to withstand the attack.  This is what Jesus’ metaphor about house building teaches us.

I believe it is true.  But I am the first to acknowledge that others have had to face, and are facing, onslaughts far more catastrophic than I have had to face.  So my faith in this truth is on the one hand firm, and on the other hand provisional.

Despite that though, the parable remains clear.  Life throws at us all the destructive happenings that it can, and we find out in the midst of it all that there is at the heart of our being a stability, a power, a security that we had no idea we had been constructing piece by piece, obedience by obedience, over the years.

Maybe here is the kernel of why the faith has lasted two millennia.  Groups of people and individuals have experienced in the reality of their lives that Christ is a sure foundation and that obeying Christ’s teaching really does form them to be people who weather storms.

But of course the slant of this text is the other way round.  “Why do you not do what I tell you?”  Do you hear the frustration in this utterance?  Humanity is given free will and, freely and repetitively, humanity chooses the easy way that leads to disaster.

So, was the Incarnation a waste of time?  Something to think about over the coming week as we turn to the familiar Christmas readings.

Prayer

Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, grant us peace.