WEEK ONE
THURDAY
Isaiah 26:1–6
Matthew 7:21. 24–27
The fate of those who do not have the luxury of building their houses on rock is a regular feature in our news. There can be few things more distressing than having your home ruined by flood waters. Matthew’s hearers too knew the dangers of foundations that were not deep enough and the disaster which came once the weather changed.
This Gospel text comes right at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew wants his audience to understand the importance of the depth of foundations needed in the following of Jesus. Hearing the words of Jesus is one thing, but really listening and being able to translate this into action is another.
‘Listen carefully, my child, to the master’s instructions, and attend to them with the ear of your heart. This is the advice from a father who loves you; welcome it, and faithfully put it into practice.‘
St Benedict opens his Rule with two sentences which set the tone for the whole monastic endeavour. The listening to which he invites us affects every fibre of our being. Cistercian, Sr Agnes Day, makes this comment on these verses:
‘Listening implies an attentive waiting, a ready openness full of hope. We want to listen to God, and this listening is our prayer, our inner space, our very emptiness, which God fills with his Presence as and how he wills. We do not listen for what we might have expected or imagined, but for the God of surprises. He is not tamed to our bidding. He is real and free and quite beyond our capacity to comprehend, much less control. But one thing we know beyond a shadow of a doubt because he has freely given us his Word: he is Love, and his purpose is Love.’
Over the years the monastic will learn to attune the ear of her heart to the Scriptures, The Rule, her superior and her sisters. She will rely on times of silence to hear the resonances deep within her. Scripture will be the constant in her life. Storms will come and hurl themselves against her house. Christ is the rock on which she builds her house.
Where is Christ calling you to listen with the ear of your heart this Advent?