Word to the Wise
Sunday, August 25, 2019 - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Isa 66:18-21; Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30]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. [Hebrews]
I'm sure many of the Beloved Congregation have heard the old expression: "No pain, no gain!" That expression would find a lot of support in the Bible, in both testaments. Preachers from Isaiah to Jesus to Paul and later suggest that the life of faith will be like all of life. There will be challenges on an emotional, physical and spiritual level. In short, suffering is a part of life and must be expected.
The Letter to the Hebrews, which provides our second scripture for this Sunday, can be seen in some aspects as a long pep-talk on "keeping the faith" to a community suffering from persecution. The passage today suggests that trials should be seen as a test from God. That particular interpretation is common today, but there are other ways to see it. In 2 Corinthians, St. Paul gives us two lists of what he has endured for the sake of the gospel (6:3-10 and 11:23-33).
In the gospel scripture today, Jesus speaks of the "narrow gate" that so many fail to enter. Christianity is not a cake-walk. There are all kinds of forces - consumerism, racism, elitism, etc. - that constantly bombard us from all sides and require vigilance and "staying in shape" to resist. Those "drooping hands and weak knees" require regular re-hab! Our faith, like our bodies, will suffer if we don't take care of it. AMEN