CCC 543-546: all called to enter the Kingdom
CCC 774-776: the Church as universal sacrament of salvation
CCC 2825-2827: do the Father’s will to enter the Kingdom
CCC 853, 1036, 1344, 1889, 2656: the narrow way
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| “’Eye of the Needle Gate’ at Alexander Nevsky Compound, Jerusalem” Photographer and Date are UNKNOWN. |
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
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.
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Commentary on Is 66:18-21
This selection from Isaiah is a section of the conclusion of the book (the final five verses are a parallel hymn). It acts as a second bookend to the work with its complementary passage being Isaiah 2:2-4. Scholars are somewhat divided on the intent. Some see it as the historical call to the Jewish people, scattered to the ends of the earth in the Diaspora, the great Babylonian exile; while others view it as a clear prediction of the Messiah, coming to call all peoples of all nations, literally from the ends of the earth. “Tarshish [Southern Spain (Ezekiel 27:12)], Put and Lud [In Africa (Genesis 10:6,13)], Mosoch, Tubal [near the Black Sea] and Javan [in the Ionian Islands (Ezekiel 27:13,19) generally indicating Greece]." Scholars are also divided about whether “Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the Lord” foresees Gentiles functioning as priests.[5]
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 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.
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Commentary on Ps 117:1, 2
“This shortest of hymns calls on the nations to acknowledge God's supremacy. The supremacy of Israel's God has been demonstrated to them by the people's secure existence, which is owed entirely to God's gracious fidelity.”[6] Using a refrain from St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:15), the psalm is one of praise for the Good News of God’s salvation.
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Reading II: 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.
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Commentary on Heb 12:5-7, 11-13
St. Paul encourages the Hebrew Christians to look at the persecution they endure, not as a fall from favor, but rather as a means by which the Lord strengthens them as his adopted children. “This teaching is supported by Proverbs 3:11-12, taken from a long discourse in which a father exhorts his son to acquire true wisdom. In the present passage the father is identified with God and we with the sons whom he is addressing.” [7] "The proverb teaches that divine discipline is inspired by divine love. Without this wisdom, one might mistake the trials of life (such as persecution; Hebrews 10:32-36) for signs of God’s anger hammering down on every fault and failure. On the contrary, God is a wise and caring Father who desires only to make his children better. It is because he loves them too much to overlook their sins and selfishness that he sends difficulties to train them in righteousness and to raise them to spiritual adulthood. In point of fact, the sons of God are being forged in the image of God the Son who ‘learned obedience through what he suffered.’ (5:8) (CCC 2825)" [8] He calls them to remain faithful in the face of these trials so that God’s work may continue in them.
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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.”
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Commentary on Lk 13:22-30
Jesus has just told the parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast. Here, the questioner asks if many will be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus’ answer has two levels of meaning. Entering through the “narrow gate” implies that there is but one set of directions that must be followed to achieve heaven. He says many will attempt to follow these directions but will not be able to because they are difficult.
The Lord’s example of the master locking the door is an analogy for the end times, the eschaton, when final judgment will be leveled against those who seek entry to the heavenly kingdom. We hear that people from all over the world will be called (see also Matthew 22:14). He concludes saying that some of the last (called to discipleship) will be first (have higher places of honor) and vice versa (similar in intent to Matthew 20:16).
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Reflection:
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate”.
We have all heard that the Lord’s yoke is easy and his burden light (Matthew 11:30). One might see this statement as paradoxical when we consider how we are to enter through the “narrow gate,” or as the image presented in Matthew 19:24, a camel going through the eye of a needle. If we wish to finally reach the heavenly kingdom, scripture tells us we must unburden ourselves, physically relinquishing those material things of earth, and spiritually giving up our human desires and aspirations in favor of a way that denies self-serving pleasures at the expense of others.
Perhaps a good analogy would be of a person trapped by fire in a tall building. They rush to the window and see below them a rescue net supported by firemen. The rescuers are calling out: “Jump, jump, we will catch you.” Fear of that fall is overcome only by the fire that is approaching. The person must leave the historical safety of their rooms, surrounded by their possessions, and take a leap of faith. In the same way we must recognize (ironically with fire at our backs as well) that we must take that same leap of faith, saving what is important, our lives, and leaving behind what will return to its elements when consumed by fire.
The spiritual and behavioral “narrow gate” also referred to in common usage as “the straight and narrow.” The image and moral tells us that we are to follow Christ’s teachings in our lives, unburdening ourselves of such things as greed, envy, vanity, and gluttony. For most of us, this spiritual unburdening is much more difficult than the physical. We seem to be constantly picking up this baggage, even as we try to put it down. For this reason, our efforts, as we approach the “narrow gate,” must be ongoing lest we get to the gate and find that we have somehow become overburdened and cannot pass.
We are all on a spiritual journey, growing in our knowledge and understanding of the mind of Christ. As we travel, we are better able to see the traps that offer us burdens to carry. Growing in our understanding of the mind of Christ is key. He showed us that even life itself was less important than his love and obedience to the Father.
There are some rare moments in a disciple’s life when they get that feeling that finally they have glimpsed that Christ-like ideal. It is in those moments that their minds voice calls out, “Lord, I’m ready, take me now!” Surely the saints were able to stay in that moment and act upon it. We fellow travelers must strive constantly, through prayer and awareness to approach that ideal, constantly recalling that all we do that is good is only through the grace of God.
Our prayer today is that we may find our way at last to that gate and pass through without undue pain in unburdening ourselves and that we can take that leap of faith with confidence, knowing our Savior stands ready to catch us if we fall.
Pax
In other Years on this date: Optional Memorial for Saint Louis of France
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture is “’Eye of the Needle Gate’ at Alexander Nevsky Compound, Jerusalem” Photographer and Date are UNKNOWN.
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 22:70, p. 386.
[6] NAB footnote on Ps 117.
[7] NAB Footnote for Hebrews 12:18.
[8] Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, © 2010, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA. p.434.
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