On this last Sunday before Ash Wednesday, when Lent begins, we hear the conclusion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  The Lord went into detail about how to enter the kingdom of heaven.  In the beatitudes Jesus described the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted, as the ones who already share in the joy of God’s kingdom.  He reminded his disciples that they were to be salt and light for the world.  He spoke of his mission, not to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.  He challenged his disciples to strive to be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect.  He explained the dangers of placing faith in wealth and possessions, instead of God.  The Sermon on the Mount closes with the Jesus’ caution, “And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.” 

            G. K. Chesterton once said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.”  Though many people are familiar with the teachings of Jesus, not many people are willing to put those teaching to the test in their lives.  Some think Jesus’ ideas are quaint and naïve.  Turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, depend on God not money; this advice is no way to get ahead in the real world.  In the end the question comes down to this, which is the real world?  Is it the world of which I am the center and everything revolves around my needs and wants?  Or is there a loving God at the center of the universe who invites me into a personal relationship with a community of persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? 

            This Wednesday we begin the holy season of Lent.  The ashes on our foreheads will signify our mortality and the reality that this world people think is so real will soon end for each of us.  When it does, will your house be built on rock or on sand?