THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

A Good Sunday to all!

It Is Not Enough to Say: “Lord, Lord!” 

²¹Not 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. ²²Many 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?’  ²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I have never known you; away from me, you evil people!’ ²⁴Therefore, anyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵The rain poured down, the rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house. But it did not collapse, because it was built on rock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them is like a fool who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain poured, rivers flooded, and the wind blew and struck that house; it collapsed, and what a terrible collapse that was!”

We are at the end of the discourse on the mountain. Jesus has presented the new Torah, which fulfills the old. Let’s take a second look at the radical nature of his moral proposals (the beatitudes, the condemnation of repudiation, accumulation, and the idolatry of money, and the demands to offer the other cheek, to love the enemy, and to be perfect as the Father in heaven). It is not surprising that his listeners were astonished (Mt 7:28), but they were also disturbed and lost.

Their reaction is no different from that of the Christians for whom Matthew writes his Gospel and from that of today’s disciples. The danger for all is to keep listening to and admiring the Teacher without the courage to practice what he has taught. This is why Jesus concludes his discourse with a severe admonishment: 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 (v. 21).

To whom is he turning? Or—whom is he turning to for hope?

He is speaking to the disciples, who pay him tribute with the title ‘Lord.’ In Matthew’s Gospel, only strangers call him ‘teacher’ (Mt 8:19; 12:38). Therefore, within the Christian community, these convictions can infiltrate: proper adhesion to Christ is enough; impeccable religious practice, along with the performance of rites and devotions, is sufficient to enter the kingdom of heaven. 

James, too, in his letter, is preoccupied with this risk and denounces it firmly: “Be doers of the Word and not just hearers, lest you deceive yourselves. The hearer who does not become a doer is like one who looks at himself in the mirror. He looked, and then he promptly forgot what he was like. But those who fix their gaze on the perfect law of freedom and hold onto it, not listening and then forgetting, but acting on it, will find blessings on their deeds” (Jas 1:22-25). Jesus is not denouncing small or big inconsistencies, such as the weakness and fragility that accompanied the great saints throughout their lives, but rather the false security of those who feel comfortable with God because they profess their faith in Christ the Lord. 

In the following verses (vv. 22-23), an accurate description of those who delude themselves into thinking they are disciples is given: They not only invoke Jesus, calling him ‘Lord!’ but also speak in his name, perform extraordinary deeds, drive out demons, and do the incredible. 

For many, miracles constitute irrefutable confirmation of a person’s holiness and the truth they teach. It is a widespread conviction rooted in the need to base faith on unopposed proof. It is dangerous because it goes to the root of a reasonable belief yet cannot be reasonably demonstrated. The Old Testament already urges prudence, advising not to put trust in signs and wonders, since false prophets can also perform them (Deut 13:2-6). Jesus affirms this: “False messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders so great” (Mt 24:24). The seer of the Apocalypse is convinced of this. He acknowledges that the beast can work “great wonders, even making fire descend from heaven” (Rev 13:13). Even the anti-Christ—assures the author of the second letter to the Thessalonians—will present itself “performing miracles and wonderful signs at the service of deception” (2 Thes 2:9). It is enough—I believe—to dissuade one who interprets miracles as proof.

In today’s passage, Jesus outlines the unique criterion for distinguishing who belongs to the Kingdom of God and who remains outside: not miracles, but doing God’s will. In the second part of the passage (vv. 24-27), Jesus develops this theme through a parable: two men, one wise and the other foolish, decide to build their houses; the first builds on rock, the second on sand. 

Saint Augustine has identified the tempests that tested the two buildings, temptations that make the weak and fragile vacillate. He said the rain is superstition; the river is carnal desire, and the wind is vain talk. The verse is in the future (in the original text, it reads: “It will be similar to a man…”), which pushes us toward a different interpretation. It is not about the vicissitudes and difficulties of life. It deals with God’s approval or condemnation of every person’s life. In the Bible, the images of rain and wind are used to describe God’s judgment. 

Floodwaters have shown the fate of the wicked (Gen 6–7). The prophet Ezekiel has presented God’s judgment against the people through images such as “torrential rain,” “huge hailstones,” and violent winds that will destroy “the wall you daubed with whitewash” (Ezk 13:10-16). Paul presents a different image: he speaks of fire that will test the quality of each person’s work; construction in gold, silver, or precious stones will withstand it, while that in wood, grass, and chaff will go into the fire (1 Cor 3:12-17). 

People’s judgment is soft and artificial; it blows like a gentle wind, lightly caressing fragile buildings and creating the illusion that they are stable and resistant. People tend to let themselves be enchanted by appearances; often, they appreciate what merits gentle correction. What reflects the stage of this world that has passed? The days are past when the photographic reporter is always on hand, with admirers asking for autographs. The crowd will vanish, and all that will be left of a life played out in vanity will be an ephemeral residue. The judgment of God will be like a violent wind, leaving only the solid constructions standing, those founded—Jesus says—on his Word, on the values he proposes, on his Beatitudes. 

The call of the parable is addressed to disciples who, having heard the Word of Christ, pin their lives on principles that are entirely different. They fool themselves into thinking they are Christian because they participate in spectacular liturgies, salon discussions, or bigoted devotional practices. Jesus asks each one to seriously verify the solidity of the foundation on which they build their lives.