“There is only one way of victory over the bitterness and rage that comes naturally to us--To will what God wills brings peace.”

“In all His acts God orders all things, whether good or evil, for the good of those who know Him and seek Him and who strive to bring their own freedom under obedience to His divine purpose. All that is done by the will of God in secret is done for His glory and for the good of those whom He has chosen to share in His glory.”― Thomas Merton, excerpt from his book “No Man Is an Island”

Gospel Text: (MT 7:21-29)

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.

Many will say to me on that day,

‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name?

Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’

Then I will declare to them solemnly,

‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’

“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.”

When Jesus finished these words,

the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

for he taught them as one having authority,

and not as their scribes.

Is it possible to do mighty deeds in Jesus’ name without knowing him? And the answer that came to me was yes.

If we do the things we do in Jesus’ name for show, or to draw attention to ourselves, or to serve some purpose of ours, then it is possible to do these things without knowing Jesus. When it is all about us, then, as crazy as it may seem, Jesus is left out of the picture.

It isn’t so much that Jesus is looking for the grand or noble gesture that gets everyone’s attention. Jesus simply calls us to do God’s will: “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.”

When we seek to know God’s love for us and for all; when we seek to do God’s will in all things, we find once again the serenity and peace the world cannot give. As Jesus tells us in using the image of a wise person who builds a house on rock, the storms may come, and the winds blow, but the house does not collapse. We need not collapse when the storm gets rough because we know God is there for us, even when our trials may keep us from feeling that He’s there.