Episode Transcript  

One

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

Yesterday we ended with a question: We've been listening to homilies and Catholic content, reading Scripture, and even praying for years, so why haven't we been transformed? Jesus gives us the answer in Luke 6. He asks, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?”

That question stopped me dead in my tracks. Why do I say to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” but then not do what He wants? What is the holdup?

Granted, I'm in good company. St. Paul himself complained, “I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” We hear Jesus. We even call Him Lord. But are we doing what He tells us?

Take His question personally: “Jesus, why do I call You Lord but still resist what You ask of me? What is getting in the way?” And then listen. Because Jesus is about to tell us what to do.

Two

“Whoever comes to Me…”

Jesus continues, “I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.” I have come to think of this passage as Jesus Himself is teaching us how to meditate! And He gives us three simple steps: come, listen, and act.

First, “come to Me.” Meditation begins by coming to Jesus. Not merely reading something. Not studying theology. Not thinking about religious ideas. Coming to a Person. Jesus. And in the Rosary, we come to Jesus with Mary. This is why daily meditation is really a daily appointment with Jesus. We stop whatever else we're doing and deliberately place ourselves in His presence. We say, “Jesus, here I am.” That's the beginning of meditation.

So ask yourself, “Am I faithful to my daily appointment with Jesus?”

Three

“Listens to My words…”

Second, Jesus says the person “listens to my words.” That's what we are trying to do in the Rosary. We come to Jesus with Mary, and then we listen. During these Rosary meditations, many things from the Word of God are presented. But don't try to remember everything. Pay attention to what strikes you personally and stay with it. Maybe it's a sentence, a phrase, or an idea. When something strikes you, don't just move on. Lock in on it. Think about it. Apply it. Talk to Jesus about it. For example, maybe today the words that strike you are, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” Good. Stay there.

During the Our Father and Hail Marys, think about those words. "Why don't I do what Jesus asks? Where am I resisting Him?” Then talk with Him about it in your heart, “Jesus, I know what You want me to do here, but I don't want to do it. Why? What am I afraid of? What am I attached to? Help me.”

That's meditation.

Listen. Notice what strikes you. Stay with it. Think about it. Apply it to your life. Talk with Jesus about it.

Four

“And acts on them.”

But Jesus doesn't stop with coming to Him and listening. He says, “Whoever comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them…” Here is the missing link. Yesterday we learned that meditation exercises the intellect and the resolution exercises the will. Here Jesus gives us exactly that method, “Listen to My words and act on them.”

So toward the end of meditation we ask, “Jesus, what do You want me to do today?”

That's the resolution. And the resolution needs to be specific and concrete. Don't resolve, “I need to be more patient.”  Instead, “Today, when that person irritates me, I will not complain about them.” Don't resolve, “I should pray more.” Instead, “Tomorrow morning at 7:00, I will sit down and meditate.”

That's a resolution.

Then comes the most important part: do it, practice it.

The resolution is the bridge between hearing God's Word and being changed by God's Word. Jesus gives us the method, “Come to Me. Listen to My words. Act on them.”

Meditation and a resolution. That's the method of Jesus.

Five

Build Your House on Rock

Finally, Jesus tells us why this matters. The person who comes to Him, listens to His words, and acts on them is like a man building a house who, “dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock.” The flood came. The river burst against the house, but it could not shake it because it had been well built. Then Jesus describes the other man, “The one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation.”

The flood came, and the house collapsed. Now notice something very important: Both men hear. The difference isn't that one hears the Word of God and the other doesn't. The difference is that one acts on it. We can listen to this Rosary every day. Something can really strike us. We can even be deeply moved. But if nothing changes in the way we live, something essential is missing.

The goal of meditation is not simply to have good thoughts about Jesus. The goal is to encounter Jesus, listen to Him, and do what he says. That is the only way we will be transformed.

That's why the resolution is so important. Yesterday we learned that repeated actions become habits, and habits gradually change the person. That's how we build the house: one resolution, one action, one day at a time.

So why hasn't God's Word transformed us? Not because God's Word lacks power. Because hearing it isn't enough. We have to come to Jesus, listen and think about what He says, make a concrete resolution, and practice it. So remember three words: Come. Listen. Act. Come to Jesus with Mary. Listen to what He says to you. Make one concrete resolution and act on it. Do that every day, and little by little, with God's grace, you will be transformed.

You will be digging deep and building your life on rock. And when the river comes, and it will come, your house will stand.

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