The Gospel today (Lk 14:1, 7-14) illustrates the importance of humility and shows it is much more than a way of thinking about ourselves. True humility involves giving with no strings attached, just as God is generous with us.
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| Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Peasant Wedding |
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| Door to Basilica of Nativity (source) |
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Doors are a powerful symbol, so much so that the theme or symbol of a door appears in various songs from Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s” to, more recently, “Love is an open door”, from the movie frozen. Doors can symbolize many things. An open door can denote welcome, while a closed door can make us feel shut out and excluded. In the Gospel today, Jesus is asked an important question: “are only a few being saved?” In responding to this question, Jesus uses door imagery. He speaks about a number of different doors in the Gospel: a narrow door (v. 24), a door slammed shut (v. 25) and even a seemingly infinite number of doors open to all (v. 29). In order to better understand Jesus’ response to the question, “are only a few being save?”, let’s dig deeper into the rich door symbolism.
There is a perennial temptation to close the door of God’s salvation and mercy to certain groups of people. At Jesus’ time, the question of who was being saved was much discussed. Were only Jewish people saved, or could Gentiles also be considered a part of God’s people and be saved as well? Would all Jewish people be saved or just certain kinds of Jewish people, that is, certain groups within Judaism? There was a tendency to limit who could be saved, to close the door of God’s goodness to some. We can do the same today. In 2020, Pope Francis wrote an important document called Fratelli Tutti, which can be translated as “We are all brothers and sisters”. In this document, Pope Francis discusses a negative trend that often marks our society, namely, polarization. For example, we can be polarized along political lines. People are either conservative or liberal. Depending on our outlook one is good while the other is bad. When this way of thinking enters the Church, there can be damaging effects. We can think that God could not possibly be with people of other religions. Or we can think that only my particular subgroup within the Church is the “correct” one. God is with my type of Catholic and not others. Just as at Jesus’ time, we can run the risk of closing doors on people, thinking that certain individuals or group cannot access the mercy and goodness of God.
In the Gospel today, Jesus challenges this way of thinking, proclaiming that the doors of salvation are open to all. To those who may think that only their group can be saved Christ proclaims that all people can become a part of God’s family. His mercy and goodness extends to all. Jesus says that Gentiles, that is, non-Jewish people can become a part of God’s kingdom. In fact, people are pouring into God’s kingdom, from all directions, the east and the west. The doors of God’s salvation are open to all. Jesus even goes so far as to say that we will be surprised about who will be a part of God’s kingdom, about who will be saved. He says that “some who are first will be last and some who are last will be first.” God’s way of thinking about salvation is quite different than ours at times. You may have heard the story and about the priest and the taxi driver who arrive at the pearly gates of heaven. St. Peter welcomes them and shows them to their homes. He guides the taxi drive to a wonderful mansion. "Thank you," the thrilled taxi driver said. Anticipating an even larger mansion, the priest was dismayed when they arrived at a small 1-bedroom apartment. "St. Peter, I'm confused," the priest began. "As a priest, I devoted decades of my life solely to serving the Lord. How come the taxi driver got a mansion, and for me, only a small apartment?" St. Peter smiled. "Up here, we go by results. While you preached, people slept; while he drove, people prayed”. Jesus tells us that God’s salvation is available to all. Some of those who we close the door on may ahead of us entering God’s kingdom.
Rather than closing the door of salvation to some individual or groups of people, Jesus encourages us to focus on ourselves and ensure that we personally enter through the door that leads to salvation. The door to salvation is narrow, Jesus tells us. We need to do something in order to enter it. As Jesus so often does when he is questioned by people, he changes a theoretical query into practical advice. When Jesus is asked about whether few or many are being saved, people expect him to respond with a list of groups of people who can be saved: Jew or non-Jew, this kind of Jewish person or that. In Jesus’ response, he makes it clear that the background of people is not as important as their behaviour. The door of God’s salvation, love and mercy are open to all. All can enter in and become a part of God’s family. What matters is how we act – each of us personally – that determines whether we walk through the door and enter God’s kingdom. In other words, rather than judging others, we need to be concerned with ourselves.
At the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem, there is a famous door. The door to enter this Church that is built over the site of Christ’s birth is quite low. Everyone can get through the door. However, you need to bend down to enter it. Historically, this door was probably built in this manner to ensure that people on horseback did not enter the Basilica. Over the years, however, the door was given a metaphorical message that expresses well Jesus’ point in the Gospel. All can enter through the door that leads to Jesus and the salvation that He brings. Although we can all enter, we personally need to make some changes to enter the door. To lower ourselves, to be humble, to serve others more than ourselves. Today, Jesus encourages us once again to walk through this door that leads to God’s salvation and goodness.
19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C, August 6, 2022
Luke 12:32-38
With His emphasis on judgement and violent punishment, the language of Jesus in the Gospel today (Luke 12:32-38) is startling. He sounds like a "fire and brimstone" preacher declaring a message that seems far removed from the Gospel of love and mercy with which we are accustomed. When we look closer, however, Jesus' proclamation about judgement is in fact Gospel. It is good news.
.jpg/1920px-Last_Judgement_(Michelangelo).jpg "Last Judgement, Michelangelo") |
| Last Judgement, Michelangelo |
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Full homily:
We're all probably familiar with the cliche of “a fire and brimstone preacher”. We see this kind of preacher in movies. A “fire and brimstone preacher” brings to mind someone standing in the pulpit, wildly waving his hands, shouting loudly, and perhaps red in the face. Such a preacher uses vivid descriptions of God's judgment and eternal damnation to move the congregation to change their ways. Don't worry, I am not about to become a fire and brimstone preacher! I imagine that many of us think that fire and brimstone preaching is something that belongs in the past. We would not want to see it again. It relies too much on motivating people by fear rather than love. It is difficult to see this as Gospel, as good news.
With this in mind, the Gospel of today is startling because Jesus is behaving like a fire and brimstone preacher! He speaks about a final judgement when the master will return after being away for a long time. Those servants who are ready for the master’s return will receive a reward, while the others who are not ready will receive a severe punishment. The language is harsh. Jesus says things like, “that slave who knew what is master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating”. If this is not fire and brimstone preaching, I don't know what is! What can we make of all this? Why is Jesus speaking in such a severe way? This does not sound like good news. What does this have to do with the Gospel of love and mercy with which we are so accustomed to Jesus preaching?
When we look closer however, we realize that the Jesus’ emphasis on judgement is in fact good news for those who have tried to follow Him. When we try our best to follow the way of life Jesus lays out for us, judgement is not something to be feared, but rather something to look forward to. Early Christians prayed for the rapid return of Jesus. A common prayer was, maranatha, which means “Come Lord” in Aramaic. Early followers of Christ longed for him to return as judge. Jesus tells us that for those “whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” That a master would serve and care for a servant in this way is truly remarkable. We would hardly expect a CEO of a multinational corporation to go down to the assembly line in one of the company’s many factories, find a worker who is doing his or her job well, and take that worker out to enjoy the most lavish of meals which the CEO has prepared from scratch. This, however, is how Jesus will care for those who have followed him faithfully. They will enjoy eternal life with God. This communion with with the Holy Trinity is goodness and complete happiness. For those who have been faithful, is a wonderful thing!
The judgment which Jesus speaks about is also good news for those who have been downtrodden, oppressed, and treated poorly. Throughout the Bible, we find many passages grappling with the following paradox. Why is it that bad things happen to good people and bad people seem to get away with their behavior, and even prosper? These questions are raised in various books, such as Ecclesiastes. These questions naturally arose in the minds of biblical authors. The people of Israel lived a tumultuous history. They were persecuted and oppressed by one empire after another: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and finally, during the time of Jesus, Rome. In the time before Jesus as well as during his life the people of Israel suffered terribly. They were robbed of their autonomy and oftentimes forbidden from practicing their religion. They longed for a time when God would exercise justice upon those who had harmed them. We can feel the same way. When we look out throughout human history, even in recent years, we see people committing great evil and violence against the innocent. Brutal regimes violently persecute minority groups within their boundaries. Wealthy corporations exploit the poor and vulnerable for profit. Such wrong doers appear at times to thrive. This reality seems to fly in the face of our conceptions of a just, loving God who cares for the downtrodden. For this reason, the message that evildoers – such as the servants who ruthlessly beat other servants – will be punished can seem like a relief. Wickedness will not continue indefinitely. Wrongs will be made right. The judgement that Jesus speaks of is good news because, in the end, goodness and justice will prevail.
While it may not seem like it at first glance, the Gospel today is a positive message because it encourages us to live our best life, to make our existence matter. The main lesson of the Gospel is this: always be ready to meet Jesus. Christ teaches us to live each day as though it were our last. Although this may seem grim at first glance, this attitude helps us make the most out of life and all the blessings God has bestowed on us. Some years ago (2007) a movie was released called “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. In this, both characters played by the leads were diagnosed with terminal cancer. Since one of the characters happens to be a millionaire, the pair decide to embark on an incredibly journey in which they do all the things they wish they could have done in their lives – their bucket list – in the few months they have left – before they “kick the bucket”. They go skydiving and visit incredible places. Now, the movie is flawed in many ways. However, the message the film attempts to convey is important. Ultimately, the pair learn they should always have lived their life as though time was limited. Knowing that they had a fixed number of days to live helped them make the most of their life. This attitude should characterize our lives as followers of Jesus. We should always be ready to meet Christ. We ought to live our life in the best way possible, the way Jesus has called us to. This will probably mean that things like skydiving won’t be the highest on our bucket list. Rather we will be concerned with following the Gospel here and now. We will be sure to reconcile with those we have grown apart from. We will be generous with those around us, sharing our time, talents, and treasures. We will stay close to Jesus. Living our life constantly ready to meet Jesus means that we live our best possible life.
We rightfully are turned off by “fire and brimstone” preaching. Only Jesus can get the message right. Only He correctly presents the theme of judgement as good news. Still, the idea of living each day as though it may be our last can be frightening and intimidating. At least it is for me. If Jesus were to come back today, there are so many things in my life that I would want to change. In order to ensure we do not become overwhelmed, it is helpful to remember the adage often repeated by Desmond Tutu: “there is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time.” As we sit here today, we could ask ourselves, “what is one thing Jesus might be asking me to change in my life starting now?” Let us try in this coming week to work on this one thing, always trusting that Jesus is a judge yes, but, most importantly, Jesus is a merciful judge. Jesus understands us. He loves us, and is patient with us.