Do Not Risk Being Shut Out
Introduction: May you continue to learn from the Master-Teacher and be faithful disciples as you journey along the path with others towards the home of our Abba-Father.
The teachers are reminded frequently that they must be aware that each moment in the classroom can be a “teachable moment.” They need to be attentive to what is happening with the students and not just focus on the material in the curriculum. When teachers are conscious of what is happening around them and the students, teachers can recognize opportunities to bring out a “life lesson” in what is taking place. Sometimes these “life lessons” are not always pleasant, because they demand that all of the teachers and students alike—stretch themselves in ways for which they had not planned, or with which we are not comfortable. We must be aware of those who presume they know everything and do not need our instruction, and who “look down” on their fellow students who just do not get it. Teachers have to be willing to help such students realize that they still have much to learn and that they need to be patient with those who are struggling. Teachers must also be attentive to those who are on the verge of giving up, and so they encourage the students to stay the course.
Today’s readings are challenging and at the same time reassuring. The First Reading may give us a sense of reassurance as we hear that people from many nations will be welcomed into the presence of GOD. The Responsorial Psalm has a similar theme in that it is an invitation for all nations to praise GOD. The Second Reading is on the challenging side. The author uses an analogy of a parent disciplining a child as a means of allowing the child to grow. Jesus’ words in the Gospel are also challenging because He speaks of the narrow gate through which not all will pass.
First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21: ‘They shall bring all your
brothers from all the nations.’
Commentary: This reading comes from the very last chapter of Isaiah. Israel has returned from exile and settled down back in Jerusalem. It has outgrown the frantic worry about mere survival under threat of extinction and can afford to look outwards. Just so, a sign of a child’s maturity is when she or he grows less self-preoccupied and can begin to be aware of the needs of others. In the same way Israel now sees that the vocation of the Chosen People is not to be turned in on itself, but to bring the Lord’s salvation to others. Isaiah prophesies that this wonderfully outlandish list of far-distant lands, Tarshish, Put, Lud, Tubal and Javan will come to draw salvation from Jerusalem, and will take part in Jerusalem’s own sacred worship. It is the immediately preparation for the spread of the Gospel. As Christians we believe that all nations will somehow be saved by Christ, even though they do not know him. ‘Nor is God far distant from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God,’ says the Constitution on the Church of Vatican II.
Responsorial Psalm: 117:1. 2. Go into all the world and proclaim
the good news.
Today’s Responsorial is the shortest psalm. We have all of it (two verses) today. It is succinct and to the point. All people are invited to praise GOD and GOD’s loving kindness and faithfulness. As GOD welcomes all nations into the divine presence, it will be a time of great rejoicing. Alleluia! Praise the LORD!
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13: ‘The Lord disciplines
the one he loves.’
Commentary: What is the sense of all the suffering in the world around us, the constant pain, worry, loneliness, fear, frustration? Is all this distortion and misery really compatible with the belief in a God of love? The Letter to the Hebrews here gives one explanation: it is the loving training and discipline of a father to bring us to peace. In a world without pain would we ever turn to God? When all is going well, many of us can manage nicely without God! If our world falls apart, we need God to put it together again. Paul puts it slightly differently, seeing suffering as the privilege of sharing in Christ’s own redemptive suffering. By enduring Christ’s suffering in every age, the Church ensures that it truly is the body of Christ, the Servant of the Lord. But we can never be content with suffering. Jesus himself understood suffering, and he went out of his way to heal it in all its forms. We should also remember, that, in an age when so many decry the selfishness and materialism of society, the generosity shown by so many for the alleviation of suffering, the care of the sick, the betterment of the underprivileged, is one of the signs of Christ at work in his society.
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30: ‘People will come from east and west, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.’
Commentary: Half-way through the journey up towards the Passion, as Jesus passes through the villages he again stresses the difficulty of entrance to the Kingdom. The synoptic Gospels stress the narrowness of the road and the reluctance of the disciples, even the Twelve, to believe, let alone to accept the tough message of the cross. Luke insists, don’t sit back in complacent contentment that we have been called, or you may find the door slammed in your face. Matthew 7.21-23 has the same warning: it is not enough to keep calling out, ‘Lord, Lord!’ without actually doing the will of the Father. He also has a similar, more developed parable of the wedding attendants, five wise with oil in their lamps, and five unprepared for the wedding feast. They too vainly cry, ‘Lord, Lord!’ from outside the door. But then Paul is full of joy in the Kingdom and of confidence. Look at Romans 6 or First Corinthians 15! Yes, he corrects his communities, but he never really envisages Christians going to perdition. There is no weeping and gnashing of teeth – only the triumph of Christ. The Jews will be thrown out, but those coming from the four corners of the compass will relax at the table in the Kingdom.
How is it that these two facets can co-exist? One of the greatest biblical scholars of the early Church, Origen of Caesarea, held that there was no one in hell, though one must admit that he was condemned for this by a local Council (led by Epiphanius of Salamis, who had it in for Origen); it is important for the doctrine of free will that hell should remain at least a theoretical possibility. Was it that Jesus was proclaiming the Gospel to Jews, who should have accepted the message, but few of whom would finally accept it, whereas Paul was proclaiming the Good News to gentiles who did accept it in unexpected numbers?
Reflection: What does the image of a door say to us about the kingdom of God? Jesus' story about the door being shut to those who come too late suggests they had offended their host and deserved to be excluded. It was customary for teachers in Jesus' time to close the door on tardy students and not allow them back for a whole week in order to teach them a lesson in discipline and faithfulness.
Who will be invited to enter God's kingdom? Jesus told this story in response to the question of who will make it to heaven - to God's kingdom of everlasting peace and eternal life. Many rabbis held that all Israel would be saved and gain entry into God's kingdom, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant relationship with them.
Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership as a people who have entered into a covenant relationship with God does not automatically mean entry into the everlasting kingdom of God. Second, Jesus asserts that many from the Gentile (non-Jewish) nations would enter God's kingdom. God's invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike.
Jesus is the door to the kingdom of heaven: But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9). God sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open the way for us to have full access to the throne of God's grace (favor and blessing) and mercy (pardon for our sins). Through Jesus' victory on the cross he has freed us from slavery to sin and hurtful desires and addictions, and he has made us sons and daughters of God and citizens of his heavenly kingdom. We are free now to choose which kingdom we will serve - the kingdom of truth and light ruled by God's wisdom or the kingdom of falsehood and darkness ruled by Satan and the world system or society of people who are opposed to God and his laws.
Following the Lord requires effort and commitment on our part: If we want to enter God's kingdom and receive our full inheritance which is stored up for us in heaven, then we must follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross through a willing renunciation of our own will for his will - our own life for his life - our own way for his way.
Why did Jesus say we must strive to enter his kingdom of righteousness and peace? The word strive can also be translated as agony. To enter the kingdom of God we must struggle against every force or power of opposition - even the temptation to remain indifferent, apathetic, or compromising in our faith and personal trust in Jesus, our hope in holding firm to the promises of Jesus, and our uncompromising love for God above all else. Paul the Apostle reminds us that our hope in God does not disappoint us because "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5).
The Lord is with us to strengthen us in our trials and struggles: The Lord reminds us that when we face difficulties, trials, temptations, and even failures, we do not struggle alone. He knows our weaknesses even better than we know them, and he is always ready to help us in our struggle to overcome sin and wrong-doing. God's grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27) Jesus assures us of complete victory! Do you trust in God's grace and help, especially in times of testing and temptation?
Lord Jesus, may I never doubt your guiding presence and your tender love and mercy towards me. Through the gift of your Spirit fill me with persevering faith and courage to trust you always in all things and in every circumstance I find myself in. May your love set my heart aflame with love for You who are my All.
“knock, knock, knocking on heaven’s
door”
“When once the Master of the house has risen to lock the door
and you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Sir, open for us,’ He will say in reply,
‘I do not know where you come from.’” —Luke 13:25
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus says that a person will stand knocking on the door to His Kingdom after it is locked. That person will ask the Lord to open the door. The Lord will then say in reply, “I do not know where you come from” (Lk 13:25). Of course, the Lord is omniscient; He knows everything. How do we make sense of this parable?
During your life, Jesus is standing outside your door, quietly but persistently knocking and saying, “Here I stand, knocking at the door” (Rv 3:20). Will you leave Jesus simply standing there knocking, and not let Him into the deepest desires of your being? (see Lk 13:25ff) Let Him into those narrow places in your heart where you won’t let anyone else go. That way, Jesus can “know” you intimately.
If during our lifetime we have blocked the Lord from entering the narrow way into our heart, then we are closed to the narrow doorway of which Jesus speaks (see Mt 7:13-14). We may think the Lord is narrow-minded. But God replies: “The narrowness is in you!...Open wide your hearts” (2 Cor 6:12, 13). If we don’t take the trouble to know Jesus, this explains why He can say “I do not know you” (Mt 25:12). If we persist in keeping our door locked to Jesus during our lifetime, then we should not be surprised when the door is locked to us in the afterlife.
Prayer: Jesus, I wish to know You (Phil 3:10). Grace me to open my narrow places to You, so we can know each other. “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see My glory.” —Is 66:18. Praise Jesus, Whose death, Resurrection, and Ascension opened the gates of heaven forevermore! Alleluia!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: To enter the narrow door, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"'Wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.' What are we understand by its broadness? ...A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law [the commandments of God]. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 99)
The personal action for today: What is my view of making it into GOD’s presence? Am I presuming that I have it made? Do I experience despair and almost give up? How much work and effort am I willing to expend, not only for myself, but also for my fellow travelers on the journey? Do I look to Jesus as the Master-Teacher, as the One Whom I must imitate? How do I respond to the discipline that I must go through in order to follow the Master-Teacher? Which disciplines do I need to practice more, and then learn from them? How can I be more of Good fellow traveler with those who are on the journey to GOD?
*Saint Bartholomew: In the New Testament, Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the apostles. Some scholars identify him with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him” (John 1:47b). When Nathanael asked how Jesus knew him, Jesus said, “I saw you under the fig tree” (John 1:48b). Whatever amazing revelation this involved, it brought Nathanael to exclaim, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (John 1:49b). But Jesus countered with, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this” (John 1:50b).
Nathanael did see greater things. He was one of those to whom Jesus appeared on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias after his resurrection (see John 21:1-14). They had been fishing all night without success. In the morning, they saw someone standing on the shore though no one knew it was Jesus. He told them to cast their net again, and they made so great a catch that they could not haul the net in. Then John cried out to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When they brought the boat to shore, they found a fire burning, with some fish laid on it and some bread. Jesus asked them to bring some of the fish they had caught, and invited them to come and eat their meal. John relates that although they knew it was Jesus, none of the apostles presumed to inquire who he was. This, John notes, was the third time Jesus appeared to the apostles.
Bartholomew or Nathanael? We are confronted again with the fact that we know almost nothing about most of the apostles. Yet the unknown ones were also foundation stones, the 12 pillars of the new Israel whose 12 tribes now encompass the whole earth. Their personalities were secondary—without thereby being demeaned—to their great office of bearing tradition from their firsthand experience, speaking in the name of Jesus, putting the Word Made Flesh into human words for the enlightenment of the world. Their holiness was not an introverted contemplation of their status before God. It was a gift that they had to share with others. The Good News was that all are called to the holiness of being Christ’s members, by the gracious gift of God.
The simple fact is that humanity is totally meaningless
unless God is its total concern. Then humanity, made holy with God’s own
holiness, becomes the most precious creation of God.
