BIBLE STUDY #147

TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

August 25, 2013

Reading 1

Isaiah 66:18-21

Thus says the LORD:
I know their works and their thoughts,
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,
to the distant coastlands
that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations
as an offering to the LORD,
on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,
to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,
just as the Israelites bring their offering
to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.
Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2

Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters,
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”;
God treats you as sons.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
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.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
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.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The first sentence of the Gospel reminds us that we are in the great journey narrative of Jesus, headed towards Jerusalem and Jesus impending suffering, death, and resurrection. As he travels, his main activity is prophetic teaching.

Jesus is asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” In the Jewish sense, it could be referring to the relationship of historical Judaism to the people of God. In other words, were all those people calling themselves Jews really a part of the chosen people? The concept of a remnant chosen out of the larger group was common. For example, the Essenes saw themselves as the ones saved and scorned other Jews, calling them “the ungodly of the covenant.”

In the Christian sense, Jesus has been preaching about repentance, forgiveness, and turning around lives if one is to inherit eternal life. In Luke 10:25-28, we have the great commandment to love God and each other which ends with “do this and you will live.”

Jesus doesn’t answer directly, but indicates that the ones who “strive to enter through the narrow gate” have the possibility of being saved, but it will be difficult. Why is it difficult?

Have you ever seen the movie “The Mission?” It stars Robert DeNiro as a mercenary and slave trader in South America in the 1750’s who has a conversion experience and goes to live with the Spanish Jesuits. In a poignant scene, DeNiro is climbing up a steep rock face carrying a sack containing all the equipment he used as a mercenary and slave trader: helmet, sword, shield, armor and the like. He won’t let go of the sack as he climbs up the rock face, and every time he nears the top, he drops it. He then climbs back down and retrieves his sack and tries again. It is only when someone cuts the cord on the sack, allowing it to fall down to the bottom, that DeNiro is able to get to the top. We see him looking down at the sack at the bottom of the rock face, but he lets it go and accepts the hand of a friend who helps him up to the top.

The reason why we will find it difficult to enter through the narrow gate is because we carry too much baggage, preventing us from going through. In the old wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem, there is a gate called the Narrow Gate, and if a camel is to go through the gate, it must be unloaded first to be able to enter. What proves difficult for us is letting go of past hurts and sins, forgiving those who have wronged us and forgiving ourselves for our own mistakes. Even though God forgives us, we hold onto the baggage of sin and refuse to let go.

It’s also difficult to change, admitting that we need to grow and get closer to God. Sometimes we’d rather stay where we are than face the challenge of the unknown. We hold on to the past because we are scared of the future.

Jesus says that “many will not be strong enough” to enter the gate. They won’t be strong enough to, as the AA people say, “Let go and let God.” They won’t be able to let go of anything holding them from the kingdom.

Jesus also indicates that the door won’t be open forever. The master of the house will lock the door and when we ask to enter we will be told “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”

We will claim to be part of his company but he will tell us again to depart, and call us evildoers.

We won’t be recognized because we weren’t doing God’s will, but our own. Like the old saying goes, “God made us in His image and likeness, and we’ve since returned the favor.”

 I love today’s Gospel because it says so much about the exclusiveness we find in some religious people. This isn’t only in Catholicism, but can be found anywhere people think that they are better than others or are more privileged than others. Jesus talks about an inclusive kingdom where people “come from the east and the west, the north and the south,” and we will see “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out.” Who was Luke talking to? The Christian community! This is a warning to all who think they have it made, those who think they don’t have to change, or who think they are saved but others who don’t think and believe like them aren’t saved. We may be surprised who we will find in the Kingdom; the biggest surprise may  be others in the kingdom seeing us! Jesus tells us to “strive to enter through the narrow gate.” What does it mean? To do our best to be disciples of Jesus. Don’t worry about what others do; worry about yourself and you’ll be much better off. I have a shortcut to entering through the narrow gate; focus on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and we will go a long ways towards entering the narrow gate.

The first reading from Isaiah takes place shortly after the end of the Babylonian captivity, toward the end of the 6^th century BC. They had been in exile for about 50 years, and when the Persians let them go to Jerusalem, many decided to stay because Jerusalem had been destroyed in 586 BC. Anyone returning would be committing themselves to a lifetime of rebuilding. Many thought staying in Babylon to be a better option. Isaiah encourages them to return to build a better and more glorious Jerusalem, one that will be a beacon of faith not only to the Jews, but to all people.

In the second reading from Hebrews, the author is encouraging the people to see their difficulties in their discipleship not as obstacles to their faith, but to regard their difficulties as a way that they are being honed by God to carry out God’s will. He tells us that instead of being discouraged, we should look forward to being strengthened. As another old saying goes, “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Fr. Phil