If I build my life on his word I can withstand fierce of problems and storms.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊   

２kings 24:8-17

Jehoiachin was eighteen years old

When he succeeded his father, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother was Nehushta, daugh­ter of Elna­than of Jerusalem.   Jehoiachin treated Yahweh badly, as his father had done.

 At that time, the officials of Nebu­chad­nezzar, king of Babylon, came to attack Jerusalem, surrounding the city.   Nebuchad­nezzar came while the city was being besieged by his men.

 Jehoiachin, king of Judah, surrendered together with his mother, his ser­vants, his leaders and the pa­lace officials. It was the eighth year of the reign of Nebuchad­nezzar.   Nebuchadnezzar captured them and he took away the treasures of the House of Yahweh and of the king’s house. He also destroyed all the objects of gold which Solomon, king of Israel, had made for the sanctuary of Yahweh. So the word Yahweh had spoken, was fulfilled.

Nebuchadnezzar carried off into exile all the leaders and prominent men, the blacksmiths and lock­smiths, all the men of valor fit for war. A total of ten thousand were exiled to Babylon. Only the poorest sector of the population was left.  Nebu­chaddnezzar also carried away Jehoiachin, with his mo­ther, his wives, the ministers of the palace, and the prominent men of the land.

So all the prominent people, num­bering seven thousand, the blacksmiths, numbering a thousand, and all the men fit for war were deported to Babylon by the king of Babylon.

He made Mattaniah, Jehoia­chin’s uncle, king of Jerusalem, in place of Jehoiachin. And he changed his name to Zedekiah.

 

Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8-9

For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊   

Matthew 7:21-29

 Not everyone who says to me: Lord! Lord! will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my heavenly Father.   Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not speak in your name? Did we not cast out devils and perform many miracles in your name?”   Then I will tell them openly: I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!

 “So, then, anyone who hears these words of mine and acts accordingly is like a wise man, who built his house on rock.   The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house, but it did not collapse because it was built on rock.   But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act accordingly, is like a fool who built his house on sand.   The rain poured, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible fall that was!”

 When Jesus had finished this discourse, the crowds were struck by the way he taught,  because he taught with authority unlike their teachers of the Law.

 

 Gospel Reflection：

 Building Further Up

Whereas it is necessary that a house be built on solid foundation, it will be foolhardy to limit our attention to the foundation alone and carelessly build the walls and the roof with poor quality materials. For a house to be foolproof, it must have a rock solid foundation, strong walls, and sound roofing.

 

If not, when the rain pours, the rivers flood, and the wind blow, the house will collapse and what a terrible fall it will be! Similar danger can happen to our spiritual edifice. Many people begin with a strong foundation on God’s word.

But as their life progresses, they grow careless, offer merely lip-service to God, buy into cheaper materials of world, and go on building up their edifice on those weak resources. When tragedies strike, their house crumbles and the foundation itself becomes a stumbling block (cf. 1 Pet 2:7-8). May God be the foundation, the walls, and the roof of our spiritual life. May God be above, beneath, before, behind, and around us on a daily basis.