“A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?  I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.  That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.  But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

The image of a solid home that will not be wrecked by a flood is another common every day image to which the listener can relate.  I would argue that even in our time and context we can relate to this image.  Our faith is the home built on sturdy rock.  From that foundation and within that home we grow a heart capable of producing good fruit.  

Perhaps we can look at this lent as a growing season and work to produce good fruits of love, humility, mercy and kindness into our circles of influence with our friends and our foes.  It might be difficult, but as St. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:58 we must be firm, steadfast and dedicated to the work of the Lord knowing that when we do the Lord’s work, we are not laboring in vain.

Cecilia Carroll