Built on the Rock

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William Grant Broughton, First Anglican Bishop in Australia, 1853 - Commemoration

Today's Readings:
[ Eph 3:14-21; Ps 112:1-6; Mt 7:24-29 ]

In today's Gospel, Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a simple but challenging image: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock". The difference between the wise and foolish builders is not what they hear, but what they do with what they hear.

The commemoration of William Grant Broughton, the first Anglican Bishop in Australia, offers us a living example of this principle. Serving in a young and often difficult colonial church, Broughton helped establish foundations that would support generations of Christians after him. Although he did not advocate full independence from the Church of England, his efforts to establish dioceses, synods, and local ecclesiastical governance helped lay the constitutional basis from which the autonomous churches of the modern Anglican Communion would eventually emerge. Like any builder, he worked with imperfect materials and faced many obstacles. Yet his ministry reminds us that the Church is strengthened whenever believers choose faithful obedience over convenience.

Saint Paul's prayer in Ephesians points us toward the true foundation beneath every Christian life. He prays that believers may be "rooted and grounded in love", growing into the fullness of Christ. A building can withstand storms only when its foundation is secure. In the same way, Christian discipleship is sustained not merely by correct beliefs or good intentions, but by lives deeply anchored in the love of God.

This theme resonates strongly with Franciscan spirituality. Saint Francis sought not simply to admire Christ from a distance but to imitate him in daily life. The Franciscan path is practical and embodied: loving the poor, caring for creation, seeking peace, and walking humbly with God. It is spirituality built upon rock rather than sand.

The psalmist reminds us that those who fear the Lord are "firm of heart" and "will never be moved". Storms still come. Difficulties, disappointments, and uncertainties are part of every life. Yet those whose roots sink deeply into Christ discover a stability that does not depend on circumstances.

Today, let us ask God not only to help us hear Christ's words, but to put them into practice. May our lives become sturdy houses built upon the rock of God's love, able to shelter and encourage others when the storms arise.

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