21st Sunday of Year C 2013

 21^st. Sunday, Year (C)

(Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30)

‘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 (not be able).’

The first lesson to be learnt from those words of Jesus is that we should take great care lest we allow ourselves to be swept along with the majority. There are, sadly, many nominal Catholics and pseudo-religious people who imagine that because they are only doing what others -- most others, they would say -- are doing these days, they can consider themselves to be safe and secure from serious fault ... for who could fairly blame the majority, how could the understanding and expectations of so many so-called Christians and even Catholics be wrong?  And so, despite some possibly niggling vestiges of conscience, they approach the Lord with false confidence and soft words of entrapment, ‘Lord, will only a few people be saved?’  

What does ‘be saved’ mean there?  It is a passive expression and it does not appear to be a question about being saved by someone, so much as being saved from someone, from something.  ‘Being saved’, it implies, is what happens to some people without their involvement, and one can already anticipate -- hidden in such passivity --  the future complaints and ready excuses of the majority not thus saved, ‘We couldn’t do anything about it; it wasn’t our fault, we only did what lots of others were doing’.

Jesus rejects such passivity and any suggestion of such helpless innocence, immediately; He insists on an active appreciation and open expression of the question involved, and therefore He answers, Strive to enter through the narrow gate, which means, ‘You strive to enter through the narrow gate, for it depends ultimately on you; without doubt you cannot do it of yourself but neither, most certainly, will it be done without you, in spite of you, or against you.’

At the root of this attitude to God is the bogy of sin.  Why should God label some of our actions as sinful, why should He get angry when we do such things?  They don’t touch Him; they just satisfy us, give us some pleasure in life.

Here we need to try to face up to a basic, and unfortunately wide-spread mis-appreciation, and wrong-headed understanding, of Catholic teaching: God, Jesus, and His Church, do not simply ‘label’ actions as sinful because they anger, or are thought to anger, God.  God declares something to be sinful for us because it would hurt us, and could become like a stone of offence against us at the deepest level of our being.  When Mother Church in the name of Jesus, likewise says, ‘such an action would be sinful for you’, she means, such an action would hurt us, and could, perhaps, even ultimately destroy us.   God is motivated by love when He warns us against sin; He is not pushed by anger in such matters but allows Himself to be moved by compassion and concern for us, even though it gets Him ‘bad coverage in the popular press’, so to speak.

People of God, our heavenly Father, our Lord and Saviour, the most Holy Spirit our Helper, is omnipotent of Himself and for us, but He is neither foolish nor arbitrary; He wills to re-form us in Jesus by the Spirit as His children, His children in Spirit and in Truth.  He will not have our merely passive subjection but desires our total love and active understanding, our sincere obedience and self-commitment, so that, ultimately, we may be fit and able -- in Jesus -- to share in His eternal beatitude; and to that end He is constantly at work in us and with us, for us and our eternal well-being, through His Spirit.

Many will refuse or ignore God’s inspirations, because they choose to sample the attractions of earthly life rather than work with Him; they want to experience some of the earthly pleasures they can afford, or to which – in accordance with what others were apparently doing around them – they feel they have a right, and so can ‘legitimately’ allow themselves.  These are the ones who would not say ‘no’ to their own desires, rejecting, even mocking, the very idea of discipline, and regarding sacrifice as being for fanatics only.  Because of such spiritual indifference and indulged sensuality many, attempting later to enter by the narrow gate, will find themselves ‘not strong enough’ to do so, according to our translation’s active understanding of the Gospel words ... as distinct from the normal and more passive expression, ‘not be able’ to do so.   Their original, ‘bi-focal’, so to speak, question, ‘Lord, will only a few people be saved,’ spoke indeed of salvation but secretly hinted at and mocked the ‘bogy God’ Who, they frequently say, is always calling things that annoy Him, sins; labelling something as wrong and sinful merely because it is against His subjective preferences or despotic wishes.

All such people want a broad path and a large gate, slightly perhaps, but permanently, ajar; they want what a famous Lutheran pastor, one persecuted by the Nazis, called ‘cheap grace’.  Let me quote him:

‘Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.  Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.’

Such grace is much sought after: people will go from church to church to find it, and on finding what they want they will call such an accommodating church a truly  Christian church, a loving, caring, compassionate community from which no one is to be excluded and where none are judged; where sin is recognized as being mainly in the eyes of the beholder, and where, for the pure all actions and all people are pure; where the only thing that matters is a good intention, and the supremely good intention is not really wanting to harm anyone else.

In our Gospel reading we heard Jesus say:

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.

The times of Jesus and His Church are offered us to enable us to avoid those eternal punishments.   Jesus is merciful, loving, and understanding, but all with a view to our repentance and conversion; He cannot, would not want to, remove what His Father has established ... eternal punishment awaits those who deliberately and wilfully ignore Jesus for whatever reason.  Jesus comes to offer us what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor I quoted earlier, calls ‘costly’ -- not cheap – grace; grace that leads to eternal joy, fulfilment, and peace.  He writes:

‘Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock.’

My dear People of God, we are very highly privileged because the Lord has revealed to us the truth of the Gospel in the Church which He established and which His Spirit guides and protects.  The Gift of His Spirit is always there for us among His people and we know where to seek and ask for It in the Eucharist and the other sacraments of the Church.  Let us take care and watch, let us pray and let us work, because at times the way can indeed seem to be narrow, stretching on and on before us with no end in sight; we might even, at times, fear that the door is closed to us ... but such things are but fears, not fact, imaginings not reality; for Jesus has assured us:

Do not be afraid little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.  (Luke 12:32)

20th Sunday of Year C 2013

 20^th. Sunday Year (C)

(Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53)

We have a much-ignored aspect of Jesus' teaching set before us in our Gospel reading today, my brothers and sisters in Christ, so let me recall His words for you:

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

And not, indeed, any ordinary sort of division, but the most fundamental and hurtful division:

For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two and two against three.  Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

How do these words of Jesus fit in with those modern political agendas seeking to obliterate social expressions of cultural difference and concentrating on legal and statistical equality, even uniformity?   Jesus' words, of course, do not fit in with such an attitude to life.  And yet, there are very many who pride themselves on measures promoting a society wherein everybody is supposed to be able to live together with anybody in mutual appreciation, satisfaction, peace and prosperity, because all that can differentiate is set aside as unimportant or fundamentally wrong in comparison with the great good of an ideological and statistically verifiable equality, a world, ultimately, built on and governed by only such principles and standards as a majority can readily accept and easily apply.

These visionaries’ knowledge of human nature, however, is strictly limited and they think nothing positive at all about human destiny, and so their prescriptions for ‘ordinary citizens’ life together in society leads quickly to a situation wherein the lowest common denominator naturally prevails:

abortion has to be accepted as OK because many want it and most of those who don't want it are afraid of seeming to be unkind or inconsiderate;

likewise, marriage is best, of course; but surely any sort of loving relationship must be regarded as quite acceptable, because, after all, marriage can make such demands on the married couple, whereas other relationships -- for those with different ideas and different psychological make-up -- appear to be totally appropriate for the individuals concerned and should therefore be regarded as equally commendable for the good of society as a whole;

crime is bad, of course, but punishment can seem to be unloving, even vengeful, so let us water-down punitive justice, pay lip-service only to restorative justice for past victims, and forget altogether about prospective victims endangered by our proud compassion and criminals’ more hoped-for than established contrition.

This option for as little differentiation as possible and no distinction at all is the easy beginning of a landslide that can soon develop into a headlong and, ultimately, irresistible avalanche capable of destroying human society like the herd of Gadarene swine in the Gospel story; for moral indifference gradually breeds citizens who regard society as nothing more than the milieu where they can find personal pleasure and draw personal profit from contacts (and contracts!) with others.  In the wilderness thus created attitudes involving or invoking individual morality and social responsibility soon come to be regarded as follies of the past, whilst anarchy is seen, by a growing fringe, as the truly modern vision which alone can offer full personal expression and true human freedom for everyone.

However, although rationalist manipulation can never build a truly human society, nevertheless, the requirements of charity, ‘good will among men‘ – something absolutely essential for any such enterprise -- would seem to find those words of Jesus most disconcerting:

Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.

If we face up to this difficulty instead of trying to ignore it, we find that the solution leads to a better understanding.  The demands of charity are real, and for Christians they are supreme, but we can never rightly appreciate those demands until we have first come to understand the true nature of Christian charity.

Is it always and necessarily opposed to division?  If we think of charity as just getting on with other people, then, obviously, charity and division are incompatible.  Christian charity, however, is a gift from God; a sharing in that love which is the very life of God, the bond of living love uniting Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Christian charity is, by the gift of God, our sharing in such heavenly love come down to earth, whereby the Father has sent His beloved Son among us to save us from our sins; the Son Who, in the power of His Holy Spirit, enables us to begin to live here on earth for a heavenly fulfilment, to live as children of God, according to principles that are divine.  Whereas those who seek to promote a humanly-concocted society think that agreement and oneness is the all important aim, we who are Christians hold that "oneness in Christ" is the only true solution to the needs of mankind, the only programme that can lead to a fully human society and a divine destiny.

Now this understanding of Christian charity as an offshoot from, or better, an anticipatory participation in, divine charity can -- under certain circumstances -- involve and even require earthly division as envisaged in our Gospel reading:

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.   (Mt. 10:37)

In certain situations we must put God first and loved-ones second: a choice that can indeed bring about division in family life and in society.  And yet, such earthly division must never be allowed to break the rule of fraternal charity even here on earth; for, whilst Jesus unequivocally demands:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind;     

He also, at the same time, tells us that there is a second commandment which is like the first and which demands that:

      You shall love your neighbour as yourself.  (Matthew 22:37, 39)

Where father or son, mother-in-law or daughter-in-law, would lead in ways that turn aside from God and depart from Jesus' clear teaching, then indeed Jesus can bring division, for:

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (10:37)

In all this, however, it is not personal hatred or ill-feeling that would divide us from others, but solely love for Jesus; love for that Jesus Who will never allow us to forget what we owe to our parents and family, or set aside love for our neighbour.  In all this, it is simply a matter of the greater love prevailing in circumstances where the lesser love is never to be denied.

Where love of God transcends all other loves, it can embrace and transform any earthly divisions; human oneness, on the other hand, does not always express divine love, and without that divine content it is not able to truly express brotherly-love or fully promote human well-being.  Because of this, Christians are always obliged to seek -- first and foremost -- not human oneness, but love of God.

Because of His supreme love for His Father Jesus provoked division:

One of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us!’ But the other, answering, rebuked him saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?’  Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.’  (Luke 23:39-43)

Thus Jesus, even to the very end, walked faithfully the way of the Cross. Today, however, there are too many Christians who fear such a way, and who consequently persuade themselves that they are doing right when they distort Christian teaching in order to promote human agreement.

Jeremiah provoked opposition, as you heard in the first reading.  In the beginning of his career he had been afraid to speak divisive words, even though those words were God's own words.  God took him the by the scruff of his neck, so to speak, and told him:

Therefore prepare yourself and arise, and speak to them all that I command you.   Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them. (Jeremiah 1:17)

In other words: ‘Let yourself be afraid again, and I will give you good reason to be afraid!  Stand up now, and be prepared and ready for whatever comes!’  Such indeed is the message many Catholics need to hear today, that is, many of those who, from fear of human opposition and human divisions, would rather try to water down, hold back, change, Catholic teaching in order to accommodate modern attitudes and bring as many as possible into the pseudo-fold of comfortable conformity.   Such attempts can only fail because their promoters are seen to be not only faithless but also proud, since it is God the Father alone Who brings those He has called, to the one true fold of Jesus (John 6:44):

      No one can come to Me unless the Father Who sent Me draws him.

Our job, as disciples of Jesus in Mother Church, is to witness to the true Jesus before the world, and for that purpose Mother Church has been guaranteed the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead her into all truth about Jesus by bringing the fullness of His teaching to her mind.  The integral and authentic proclamation of, the faithful promotion of and humble witness to, the truth of Jesus is the whole function and purpose of Mother Church and her children in this world.  We must neither seek nor promote human differences because Jesus has commanded us, quite unequivocally:

You shall love your neighbour as yourself. (Matthew 22:39)

However, we are not to fear such divisions overmuch, because human differences that arise out of love of God are capable of being healed by that very love of God. 

Therefore, as disciples of Jesus, we must always bear in mind the words we heard in the second reading:

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.   (Hebrews 12:1-3)

The great Greek doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, lived in the 4^th century, and because he was famous as a preacher -- being popularly known as the golden-tongued one (that is what Chrysostom means) -- was raised to the supreme dignity of patriarch in the imperial city.  Nevertheless he refused to curry favour by preaching what the emperor and his courtiers wanted to hear, and consequently was banished, and ultimately died in exile for His witness to Christ.

This great saint, who practiced what he preached, commenting on those words of Our Lord:

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavour, how shall it be seasoned?  It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. (Matthew 5:13)

says in one of his sermons:

Jesus tells His disciples “unless you are prepared to face up to opposition, you have been chosen in vain.” Do not fear evil words, but do fear lest you yourselves should share in the pretences of others. For then, “You will become like tasteless salt, and be trodden under foot.”  However, if you resolutely refuse to back down before them, and then hear people speaking against you, rejoice; for this is what salt is for, to sting the corrupt, and make them smart   Of course, they will blame you but that won't harm you, on the contrary, it will be a testimony to your firmness. But if through fear of such opposition and blame you fail to live up to the steadfastness of a true disciple of mine, you will have to suffer much more grievously, for it will not be just a small matter of some people speaking against you but a case of being rightly despised by everyone. For this is the meaning of ‘trodden under foot.’

We who are Catholics today do not have to face up to Emperors and their cronies, as did  St. John Chrysostom, but we do face a world both fearful and hostile.  We have been given a wonderful privilege, the true faith, and we are called to be witnesses to the truth of Jesus and His Church.  Let us resolve to show our gratitude for God's gift by trying to prove faithful to our calling: witnessing to the Faith by neither fearing opposition nor currying favour.