It would be easy to read today’s Gospel and be content to remind myself that actions speak louder than words. Yet, the two powerful images in Jesus’ parable, a rotten tree and a collapsed house, unsettle that easy conclusion. How do I know if my actions spring from a heart filled with goodness? How can I discern if my actions truly dig deeply to lay a foundation of rock?
Clearly, Jesus dismisses a mere outward piety that calls out, “Lord, Lord,” but disobeys his commands. And those commands are the key. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is portrayed as a prophetic figure who calls us to reverse our expectations and act in compassion and solidarity with those on the margins. The parables of the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, and the Rich Man and Lazarus all call us to that triad that the prophet Micah proclaimed centuries earlier, “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” Actions that work for justice and embody mercy offer the promise that we will bear good fruit and build upon rock.
As for walking humbly, St. Paul’s blunt admonition to avoid idolatry calls us away not just from the showy calling out, “Lord, Lord,” but also from that ubiquitous demand of our “attention economy” today—the pride in our actions that points to ourselves. Ultimately, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God means trusting that God alone is the soil for my roots, God alone is the true foundation.
