Questions about foundations are upsetting because they shake up our identity, our sense of self. So, it’s instructive to consider how you respond to today’s Gospel.

A superficial reaction is to think, hey, I’m on the rock because I’m a serious, practising Catholic, or whatever label reassures me that Jesus’ words are addressed to other people. The shallowness of this attitude is revealed by the anger that emerges should my foundational identity be questioned: then the basis of my magnificent mansion of selfhood starts to look distinctly sandy. 

A more honest response acknowledges the challenge in Jesus’ words. I recognise that my life is at odds with the Sermon on the Mount, with its internalisation of the demands of the law, its intolerance of hypocrisy. This can lead to a sense of fear and grief: my life has fallen radically short of the demands of the Gospel, and I must begin the hard work of rebuilding on the rock.

This latter response is infinitely preferable to the former. But zeal born from a fearful reaction, though genuine, still falls short of the fullness of Jesus’ message. The ‘tale of two houses’ is more than just a warning about potential destruction. While the Sermon on the Mount begins with some apparently terrifying demands, it then leads us to a place of radical trust in God, a trust that gives birth to love for both God and others. 

So, yes, we may be deeply disturbed by the challenge of the Sermon. But we should also remember that while Jesus overthrows many of our cherished dreams—years we’ve spent building on the sand—he can and will remake us anew, if from this moment we choose to place our trust in the One who is both the master builder and the rock. 

By Chad Hargrave