The passage that we have heard this morning in our Gospel comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. At the time, the things that Jesus was saying were viewed as being radical. Throughout the preceding chapters, He was telling His disciples and those who came to listen to Him about a new way of living life, a new way of being in relationship with God the Father. He was encouraging others to embrace a new form of loving God and others.

Since Matthew has placed this exhortation of the Lord to listen to “these words of mine” at this particular point, we can then say that we are to listen to all that Jesus says to us, all that He has taught us – in the Scriptures, in our prayer, in the liturgy. And after listening, we are to act. These are the two pillars of the Christian life – contemplating on the Word of God and completing charitable deeds. We cannot do one without the other. Because it is precisely in listening to the Word of God, having a relationship with Jesus, how we learn to discern what the Lord is then inviting us to do for others.

Throughout this Advent season, let’s improve on those two areas. Take a look at our lives, our relationship with the Lord. Are we dedicating time in prayer each day? Do we spend time reading the words that Jesus spoke to His disciples, the words that He speaks to us? Can we go to Adoration more often? It’s great to come to daily Mass, but even that is not enough.

Then, are we putting what the Lord has instructed us to do into action? Are we being as charitable with our time, our talents, our treasure? Are we seeking to be Christ for others?

Let’s spend some time today reflecting on these questions. May we have the courage to go deeper this Advent season so that we might arrive at Christmas truly transformed.

Painting: Sermon on the Mount, Fra Angelico, 1446-43. In the Convent of San Marco, Florence. Photo taken by Prof. Richard Mortel. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Wikimedia Commons.