Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 26, 2007 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30]Someone asked him [Jesus], "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.....
Scripture scholars tell us that Jesus' remarks were used by Luke to address the early Christian community and its attitude about the death of Jesus and the later destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army during the first Jewish revolt (66-70 C.E.) Some of them were gloating that the folks in Jerusalem "had it coming." They were also thinking of themselves as the "ins" and looking around to be sure there were lots of "outs" when the kingdom of God would be established. Jesus' response is that the life of discipleship is what will matter, and not some kind of personal casual acquaintance with him. One must do more than "wear the company outfit and sing the company song." I was once invited to address the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship on campus. My topic was personal holiness, but after I finished speaking the questions went immediately to the subject of who would be saved, especially non-Christians! The militance and even eagerness of some Christians to exclude others from God's kingdom is very saddening. Our own Catholic tradition does not teach the exclusion of non-Christians (or non-Catholics) from God's kingdom. The use, by some Christians, of the statement of Jesus from the Gospel of John (14:6): "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." to mean that every person must explicitly recognize and accept Jesus does not find a place in Catholic teaching. I urge all my congregation to take the time to read the Vatican Council II document, Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian Religions). It is our job to proclaim the gospel. It is not our job to determine whom God will or will not save. AMEN