Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Is 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.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 117:1, 2
R. (Mk 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading II
Heb 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.
Gospel
Lk 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.”
Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
HOMILY
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” That question from “someone” is the heart of the matter for the readings we just heard. The question and the insights provided by these readings is just as relevant today as it was in the Lord’s day. Who will be saved? How many will be saved? Will I be saved?
The Prophet Isaiah and the Gospel today point out that the salvation of God’s Kingdom is open to all human beings: people from South, North, East, West, from Tarshish, Put, Lud, China, Estonia, Patagonia, Afghanistan. God is an equal opportunity savior. Any exclusion based on any human prejudice is our construct and not God’s.
The Gospel points out that the obverse of “God’s Kingdom being open to all” is also true. No single group - - be it ethnic, racial, social, religious, or gender-based - - can claim a monopoly on God’s Kingdom. Just because you are Roman Catholic or Mormon or Italian or a little old Church lady does not guarantee salvation. How we live and respond to God’s promptings in our lives is the key to being saved.
We are not saved by our own efforts or work or good looks. We are saved by our openness and response to God’s touch in our lives. If we tune God out or constantly change stations to avoid God’s prodding, then we never feel God’s touch nor respond to it. It is by God’s grace and presence that we are saved, and our task is but to be open and responsive to that touch.
Jesus addressed that “but” directly. To be open to God is to be striving to enter through the narrow gate, which is a not so easy, demanding task. This means that we have to be constant in our attention, persevering, and faithful in our living to God’s Spirit and to the joys and challenges of being a disciple of Christ.
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews adds another dimension to this question of salvation. Discipline of self, attention, priorities is necessary if you want to get through that narrow gate. Not everything on the road to salvation is easy nor fun and games. “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.” It takes the painful struggle of discipline to get through the narrow gate of attention to God’s call. It takes strength to filter out the siren call of the world’s temptations and to hone in on the frequency of God’s Spirit’s call. This is the way that one will be saved.
This summer, there is one more note that needs to be addressed concerning “will only a few be saved”. On June 29th, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a five page document (three pages of text and two of footnotes), approved by Pope Benedict, entitled “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church”. This document addressed five questions concerning our understanding of ourselves as the Roman Catholic Church that have arisen since the Second Vatican Council.
The secular press painted the Pope as a troglodyte and the document as a return to a medieval view of our Church as the only way to salvation. That is not what the document says. Check out this homily on our website, and there is a link to the Congregation’s document.
The Congregation asserts that wesee ourselves as the only “one, holy, catholic and apostolic” Church that Christ established here on earth. Other Christian Churches and Communities that have separated themselves from us are related to our true, original Church to the extent that they have maintained our “one, holy, catholic and apostolic” character. The document states that “though we believe they suffer from defects,” they are not deprived of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. The Spirit of Christ has used them as instruments of salvation.
The congregation is talking to us, not others. What it says is not embarrassing. It asserts that we are the only one Church instituted by Christ, but other Christian churches and Communities may correctly be seen as related, more or less to us, and as a means to salvation. This is an assertion that no other group has made. It reaffirms our sense that not all Christian gatherings are equal. It encourages our sense of self worth in a world that elevates or reduces every group to equality,
Does this mean that all in our Church will be saved? No! Does this mean that members of other Christian churches or Communities cannot be saved? No! Does this mean that we see ourselves as the only one Church established by Christ that from our beginning until now and till the Lord’s return maintains all the elements Christ himself instituted? Yes!
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate . . . .” God’s Kingdom is open to all. No single group may claim a monopoly on God’s Kingdom. It takes discipline to pass through the narrow gate of attentiveness and response to God’s Spirit.
How many will be saved? Will I be saved? No group or membership will guarantee a positive answer to those questions. The positive answer lies in each person’s striving to God’s Will.
As we continue this service of thanks, let us praise God for this Church of ours, that remains one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And let us give God thanks by continuing to strive to enter through the narrow gate to salvation.
Rev. Timothy K. Johnson