Aug 25 2019 Reflection
Sunday 25 August 2019
First Reading: IS 66:18-21
Responsorial Psalm:
Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
PS 117:1, 2
Second Reading: HEB 12:5-7, 11-13
Gospel Reading: LK 13:22-30
Today’s Note: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel Reading:
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.”
Reflection:
People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south. (Luke 13:29)
Going to a Catholic church in another country can be a real eye-opener. The language or accent might be different. The liturgy might have a different flair. And the people in the pews might not look like your fellow parishioners. That’s part of the beauty of the Church!
In today’s Gospel, when someone asks Jesus whether only a few will be saved, Jesus is quick to broaden his perspective. The heavenly banquet table is very large, he says! Yes, the gate is narrow, and it takes effort to enter. But that doesn’t mean heaven will be empty. History tells us that many, many people have been more than willing to enter through that narrow gate. The result? All the great saints and heroes of the faith will be reclining at table with a multitude of people: men, women, and children from every race and nation, from every cultural and economic background. The Lord is not stingy when it comes to drawing people to himself. In fact, the more the merrier!
The key is entry through the narrow gate. That’s the action of faith that unites us. Whether you’re from the north, south, east, or west, a prince or a peasant, it doesn’t matter. If you’ve entered through that narrow door—if you’ve turned to the Lord in faith and Baptism—you belong in God’s kingdom. You have a place reserved for you at the banquet table of the Lord.
Now, just as you are a part of the people of God, so are the people in your community, everyone who serves side-by-side with you at your parish. But so are people who speak a different language or whose culture or economic status is very unlike your own. So are people in prison cells and in homeless shelters. So is the annoying neighbor down the street whose faith is known to God alone. In God’s eyes, everyone is equally deserving of his love. Because God wants everyone in his kingdom. So let’s make space next to ourselves at the Lord’s banquet table.
“Lord, help me to welcome anyone who comes to you in faith.”
