The Narrow Gate

                        21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                   

In today's first reading from the prophet Isaiah we have an image of an almost limitless line of people streaming toward Jerusalem, God's "holy mountain," a symbol of Heaven. The Lord says,

            I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.          

Today's gospel reading from St. Luke gives us the same picture.

            And people will come from the east and the west

            and from the north and the south

            and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.

You may recall that we have been in the third or "C" cycle of readings since the year began. In this cycle most of the gospel readings are from St. Luke's gospel. From the beginning it has been St. Luke's intention to depict our Lord's journey to Jerusalem. All year Jesus has been preaching, teaching, healing, and working wonders on His way. Today's reading begins this way:

            Jesus passed through towns and villages,

            teaching as He went and making His way to Jerusalem.

All along the way He has been asking His people, including us, to join Him on the journey.

Despite the vast numbers of those who will enter the Kingdom, there is a hint in both readings that some will not make it. There is even the strong suggestion that among those who will not make it are those who might have thought that they had it locked up. Isaiah says that the Lord will go outside the ranks of the "chosen people" to strangers in distant lands who "have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory." This reminds us of the parable where Jesus speaks of a King who, after the invited guests failed to show up, had to go out into "the highways and byways" to find guests for his banquet.

The message of today's gospel is equally clear. The master of the house has locked the door and some will be left out. This parable refers to the Jews, especially the Pharisees, of our Lord's time. They will see Abraham and the prophets at the great banquet but they, themselves, will fail to be admitted. Now, whenever Jesus speaks to the Jews and Pharisees we should realize that He is also speaking to us. For just like our Lord's contemporaries we also run the risk of being locked out of the banquet.

Now we shouldn't get the impression that Heaven is a kind of walled fortress that is almost impossible to enter. When our Lord compares it to a banquet, He means that it is happiness. He never says that we have to wait until death to find happiness. We can start the journey right now. In fact, it will be fatal to delay.

            Strive to enter through the narrow gate,

            for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter

            but will not be strong enough.

It's hard to know exactly what He means by "narrow gate" but let's consider the words, "strive" and "strong."  As He does on so many other occasions, Jesus says that concentrated effort along with constant preparedness is necessary to find happiness.

His saying brings to mind the recent Olympic games held this year in Rio de Janiero. Of all the athletes how many were strong enough, fast enough, or skilled enough to reach the victor's podium? Talk about a narrow gate! Just think of all the athletes who were not even eligible for their country's Olympic trials. Think about all those who then failed to qualify at the trials. Finally, even when they got to the Olympic games many world class favorites faltered and failed to realize their dreams.  

Whether winners or losers we know that all the participants had put in incredible amounts of time and effort in pursuit of their goal. Even though TV cameras will only highlight the efforts of a few favorites, all of the athletes must believe in sacrifice and self discipline. At an earlier Olympics, for example, one young runner said that he had dreamt of the Olympics since he was nine years old, and had dedicated his whole life to getting there.

However, when it comes to our own lives, why are so many of us couch potatoes? What do we do to prepare ourselves for the great events that we will face in life's decathlon. Today's second reading is about discipline, the constant training and practice that is required to face life's hurdles and trials.

            all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,

            yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness

            to those who are trained by it.

How many of us in our business and professional careers go to countless workshops and seminars in order to strengthen and develop our skills. We learn and practice these skills in order to improve our performance. Yet, how often do we fail to apply these skills to our own personal quest for happiness? If discipline and self-sacrifice work in sports or business, why shouldn't they work in our personal journey?

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Reading 1. Isaiah 66: 18-21

Reading II. 1 Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13

Gospel. Luke 13: 22-30 (the narrow gate).

Set the Earth on Fire

                                    20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                 

Consider the Lilies of the Field

In today's first reading from the Book of Jeremiah, we find the prophet in deep trouble. Now we must remember that the Old Testament prophets were not fortune tellers speaking of future events. For the most part they pointed out and complained of improper behaviors on the part of the people. Not only were such behaviors bad in themselves, they were bringing all kinds of hardships upon the people. Of course, no one likes to hear such criticism, especially the leaders of society.

Jeremiah was perhaps the most outspoken of all the prophets. We still use the word "Jeremiad" today to indicate a particularly outspoken and critical speech. Is it any wonder that Jeremiah was taken by the leaders of the city and thrown into a cistern to be left for dead? After all, the city was at war and Jeremiah was blaming their bad fortune on their immoral and unjust behavior.

Today's Gospel presents us with a picture of our Lord in a Jeremiah mode. It is one of the hardest passages in scripture to read and comprehend for it shows our Lord in a way that jars our sensibilities. It seems to be so uncharacteristic. He says,

            I have come to set the earth on fire,

            and how I wish it were already blazing!

Then He says.

            Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?

            No, I tell you, but rather division.

How can this be? All along, we have thought that His mission was exactly to bring peace on the earth. Isn't our goal unity, rather than division? From this passage alone it will be very difficult to answer these questions. It might help us to go back and read the entire 12th chapter of St. Luke's gospel.

The Gospel of St. Luke is basically an account of our Lord's journey to Jerusalem where he will be arrested, tortured, and put to a cruel and humiliating death on a cross. In  chapter 12, however, the teachings and healings of Jesus have attracted large crowds. He warns his disciples that this popularity is not necessarily a good thing. The leaders of society will plot against Him just as they did against Jeremiah. They too can also expect to be drawn before the magistrates and be persecuted. But He also tells them not to worry because their heavenly Father will be with them.

Jesus tells them, "do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on." He reminds them of the "lilies of the field." "Consider how the lilies grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these." Finally, He says,

            Sell what you have and give alms. Make for yourselves purses that do not grow     old, a treasure unfailing in heaven, where neither thief draws near or moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Characteristically, Peter interjects, "Lord, dost thou speak this parable for us or for all alike?" Of course, He is speaking to all of us. He is urging us to get our priorities in order. Are we paying too much attention to the things of this world? Here we are in America, the richest country in the whole history of the world, and we seem to be so profoundly unhappy. We have so much food that our most serious illness is obesity. We spend hours shopping for clothes but will never think we look good enough. Every day we seem to agonize over the gyrations of the stock market, the real estate market, or the energy market. And still He tells us not to worry or be afraid.

Is it any wonder that many will not be able to accept such teaching or follow such an example? The teaching seems so impractical. How can we not care about food, clothing, money, jobs, and careers? I don't think that Jesus was asking us to shirk our responsibilities but He was urging us to get our priorities straight. As individuals we will all have to decide what brings true happiness.

Our choices can divide us from our families, friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens. The teaching of Jesus was really counter-cultural in His time, and it is still counter-cultural in our time. His disciples suffered and died to follow His teaching. Martyrs, both known and unknown, have suffered and died ever since. Most of us will not be asked to die for our Faith but all of us will experience some degree of suffering in just leading our daily lives. Someone once said that everyone in church is there for a reason.

In our second reading today from the letter to the Hebrews we are told to take Jesus as an example.

            Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,

            in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

            In your struggle against sin

            you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

We all have our trials and tribulations but thank God that so far we here in America have not been subject to persecution like our brothers and sisters in other parts of the world. The news this week is full of the bloodshed in the Middle East but little attention has been given to the destruction of Christian churches and communities. These Christian churches have existed virtually from the time of Christ but now are facing the greatest persecution in all of their history. We can only pray for them.

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Reading 1. Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10

Reading II. Hebrews 12: 1-4

Gospel. Luke 12: 49-53 (to set the earth on fire).

Faith and Works

                                    19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    

All three readings today deal in one way or another with the great virtue, "Faith." The author of the Book of Wisdom says the Hebrew forefathers gained courage from the "sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith."  In today's second reading the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews concludes with the famous statement about Abraham.

            By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,

            and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son...

Faith is one of the three great virtues along with Hope and Charity. Unlike the latter two it has been the source of much controversy in the history of the Church. You could almost say that it was the single great issue in the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther criticized the Church of his time for its failure to see that faith was the key to salvation and not good works. In his arguments Luther referred to the very passage in Hebrews that we read today. Even today, Protestants still speak of "justification by faith alone."

But what exactly is Faith? We've all heard the word used in so many ways. We speak of our "Catholic faith," and sing of the "faith of our fathers." We say that something is an "article of faith" or ask someone to "take something on faith." For most of us faith is the same as belief, especially a belief in something that we cannot otherwise understand.

However, the word "faith" comes from the Latin word "fides" from which our word "fidelity" is derived. In this sense it is not a belief but a habit of loyalty, of doing one's duty. The motto of the U.S. Marine Corps is "Semper Fidelis" or "Always Faithful." I believe that this motto means that a Marine will never leave his post or shrink from his duty. He would certainly never betray or let down a comrade or his country.

In today's gospel our Lord makes it clear that "Faith" means doing one's duty especially when no one is watching or forcing us. He calls us stewards meaning that until He comes it is up to us to care for our brothers and sisters. He says,

            Blessed are those servants

            whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival....

            You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,

            the Son of Man will come.

Now one of the major themes of our faith is stewardship. How many times does our Lord refer to stewards, both just and unjust? How many times does He tell us not to hide our talents or squander them? How many times have we heard Him say that we have to use our gifts to the full? Even today,

            Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,

            and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.

Faith, then, is itself a kind of good work or more correctly, it is a habit of doing good work on a regular basis. That is why we speak of "practicing" our faith since we must work on it each and every day. The opposite of faith is infidelity or unfaithfulness. For example, when a husband or wife is unfaithful, we all know that it's not a question of believing in marriage, but that they are not living up to their vows.

Even though Protestant leaders like Martin Luther placed such a reliance on scripture, they still had to reject the "Epistle of St. James" largely because of its emphasis on works. That's where we find the famous words, "Faith without works is dead." It's not just that epistle however, for whether it's Jesus, Peter, John, or Paul they all agree that no one can say they love while failing to actually perform the work of love.

It's not lack of belief but the failure to do the work of the Lord that will assign us "a place with the unfaithful." The unfaithful mistreat those who have been placed in their care, preferring to live only for themselves.

In today's reading St. Peter asked, "is this parable meant for us or for everyone."  Isn't it obvious that it's meant for all of us?

Our newspapers tell us that a growing proportion of teenagers have no religious faith. For those who get through high school with their faith intact, college is often a faith-shattering experience. In the same place we read about the high incidence of teen suicide. Fidelity in the workplace seems to be a thing of the past on the part of both employers and employees. Of course in politics anything goes. Just don't get caught.

In no field of endeavor would we take such little care as we do with our own lives. Athletes and musicians must practice every day to keep in shape. The good ones are "religious" about training in order to reach their goals. When our Lord says, "Gird your loins and light your lamps," He is talking about getting ourselves spiritually in shape. What's our goal? What do we really value?

            For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

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Reading 1. Wisdom 18: 6-9

Reading II. Hebrews 11: 1-2, 8-19

Gospel. Luke 12: 32-48 (where your treasure is).