Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 22, 2010 - Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7; Luke 13:22-30]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.
These words from today's gospel scripture are the concluding words to Jesus' response to an anxious question: "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" This question has given a lot of faithful people some spiritual anxiety over the centuries. It has also caused some faithful people to be smug when they become convinced of their membership in whatever number are to be saved! Some of that "smugness" comes from the strange joy that some people get from knowing that something is "exclusive!" Jesus' response might surprise them. The standards are the same for everyone, and there will be people from every place on the planet who will be part of God's ultimate plan for us all. At times Jesus notes that not even blood kinship is sufficient. It is only the one who "does the will of my heavenly Father." No one has the right to assume salvation if he or she is not living out the teachings of Jesus. The assumptions that some folks make can be frightening in this regard. Whole populations of Buddhists, Hindus, Moslems, Jews and other non-Christian persons are consigned to exclusion from salvation! Whole churches of Christians are also included in the exclusions at times! These assumptions are unwarranted and are a misreading of the gospel. Today's gospel, especially, should give us cause to stop and think. We are not the ones who will make any decision about anyone else's salvation. Rather we should pay attention to that narrow gate and how we are going to get through it, not how anyone else is! AMEN
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