God our rock outlasts, withstands the buffeting winds, storms of life

Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor.

A reflection on the weekday readings, for the Memorial of St. Ambrose, bishop and doctor of the church, by Father Perry.

By Father Perry D. Leiker, pastor

+ When a person asks to have an object blessed, most believe that it is sacrilegious to then use that object without respect.

Some would say that the object now belongs to God, or that God’s presence in or on that object must always be appreciated or respected.

Today’s scriptures kind of dance around that idea.

The city that is not built by God or dedicated to God will eventually, says Isaiah, fall apart and be trampled on.

The arrogance of even a great city is that it is great in and of itself and does not need God.

But Isaiah tells us that the Lord, “He humbles those who dwell on high, the lofty city he brings down,/ Brings it down to the ground, levels it to the dust”.^e

He reminds that, “the Lord is an eternal rock,” and he is a rock on which we can build our lives and our faith and our hopes.

+ Similarly, Jesus exhorts us to build our faith on rock and not on sand.

His meaning is clear. And his warning is that blessings and prayers, though good in themselves, are not enough.

The way Jesus puts it is that simply crying out, “Lord, Lord” is not enough, either.

Blessings and even prayers can be like sand on which stands the house we built, but it sinks and crumbles when winds and storms hit hard.

But doing the will of God, believing in God with all of our heart and soul, walking with God; and talking with God, seeking always to be in harmony, in touch, and in tune with God — building our house on God the rock — that is what stands, endures, protects, fulfills, and brings blessing.

The will of God outlasts and withstands the buffeting winds and storms of life.

God the rock!

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed into law on July 11, 1955, requiring the words “In God We Trust” to be printed on all coin and paper currency.

Nice idea! But for sure, some, if not many, may have more trust in the money itself on which those words are printed than they do in God.

Both Isaiah and Jesus are pointing us towards a most important focus, igniting within us a confidence in our God, and a belief that will be imprinted in and on our hearts, “In God we trust.”

Do we? Do we do it more and more each day?

And especially when those storms hit — and they will hit — then even more can we, and will we trust?

For as the psalm reminds us today, “Better to take refuge in the Lord than to put one’s trust in mortals. Better to take refuge in the Lord than to put one’s trust in princes.

Father Perry Dean Leiker is the 13th pastor of St. Bernard Catholic Church. Reach him at (323) 255-6142. Email Father Perry at pleiker@stbernard-church.com.