The flood came...

The river burst against that house....

...it collapsed at once
and was completely destroyed.

This image from today’s Gospel (Lk. 6:43-49) is particularly disturbing now, less than two weeks since Hurricane Katrina smote the underside of the United States and unleashed such horrific misery.

It should be disturbing.

First, it should remind us to help the victims of this disaster, who will be in great need for a long time to come.

Second, it should remind us to prepare prudently for disasters ourselves.

But most importantly, it should impel us to double-check our own spiritual foundations: are our lives – what we believe, what we say, and what we do - really based on the hard truth of Christ?

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 man 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.


Dig deep. Be completely fastened to Christ.