Matthew 7:21,24-27 NRSVue

²¹“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.

²⁴“Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

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Reflection on Matthew 7:21,24-27

Inspiration from 2026-12-03 Daily Prayer

• Today’s parable presents us with two ways: the rock, representing the wise people who take Jesus’ words to heart, and the sand, representing the foolish who ignore his words. Both groups receive the same message, but just as lip service (calling out ‘Lord, Lord’) is not enough, neither is simply hearing. What matters is action – acting on the words and message of Jesus.
• A wholehearted response to Jesus requires more than saying the right things, hanging out with the right people, attending the right religious services. We can easily point to people in the public eye whose outward declarations of faith do not match their actions. We are invited to examine our own foundations too: Is my faith built on sand or rock? Do my actions match my words and outward appearance?