Reflection for Sunday August 21, 2016
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
By Rev. Bob Johnnene
OFM
Mission Saints Sergius
& BacchusFranciscans of Joy of the Gospel
Independent Catholic
Church of the Americas
Link to Mission &
Franciscan Web Sites: www.missionstsergius.org
www.OrderFrancisacansofMerccy.org
The readings for this
Sunday have much to say about who are welcomed into the house of God our
Father.
The first reading from
Isaiah 66 tells us that God in the human form of Jesus Christ will be sent to
teach and gather ALL NATIONS and it foretells that his disciples would be sent
to ALL the ends of the world to proclaim God’s GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION.
The Lord says this: I
am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness
my glory. I will give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the
nations: (Isaiah 66:18-21)
The second reading from
the book of Hebrews 12 tells us that God will reprimand us if we fail to follow
his teachings but it is because he loves us as a father and wants us to strive for
perfection but will also forgive us and embrace as because he is merciful and
loving.
“do not get discouraged
when the father reprimands you. For the Lord trains the ones that he loves and
he punishes all those that he acknowledges as his children. Suffering is part
of your training; God is treating you as his children. Has there ever been any
child whose father did not train them? (Hebrews
12:5-7,11-13)
As I was reading the
passage from Hebrews my thoughts traveled back to my youth and the times my parents
“spanked me” or took away a privilege because I had broken a rule or failed to
do as I was told.
The spankings were all
administered on that part of our body that has a lot of padding and they were
administered with love just as Gods chastisements are.
Today that kind of
punishment is considered child abuse and parents have been jailed for
“spanking” their child.
I have to wonder if the
lack of punishment when a child has done something wrong is why we have so many
children totally unaware of correct social behavior and very self-centered focusing
on luxuries, fame, fortune and personal self-gratification rather than doing works of social justice.
The Gospel from Luke ends
with words that we have all heard many times; "And behold, some are
last who will be first and some are first who will be last." (Luke
13:30)
Some Christian clergy
persons have claim to know who is and who is not acceptable to Almighty God and
who is damned for eternity.
There is not a clergy
person of any denomination that knows that for sure, in fact the church teaches
that even Judas Iscariot who betrayed Christ and then hung himself could very
well be among the heavenly elect since all he had to do with his last dying
breath was think “God forgive me” and God would have forgiven him because God
is a compassionate and merciful God. Determining who can enter the kingdom of
heaven and who will be condemned to Hell is God’s and only God’s determination.
God is going to judge us
on how well we followed and lived the teachings that he sent Jesus to this
earth to make completely clear to us.
Have we lived the The Beatitudes by caring for the planet
God created, being compassionate toward the poor, sick, imprisoned, elderly,
homeless, unemployed, and did we respect our neighbor as we would like to be
respected?
The Gospel of Luke has
three parables, the first about the narrow door and how some will not be strong
enough to enter, I am reminded of the traditional Christian song “When the
Saints Come Marching in; Oh, when the
saints go marching in Oh, when the saints go marching in, I want to be in that
number When the saints go marching in”
The second Parable is
about those who are late and that refers to those people who failed to ask for
forgiveness, a very good way to not fall into this category is to frequently
receive the sacrament of reconciliation.
The third parable concerns
those who are pretentious and think they are better than their neighbor and a
much better Catholic because they attend Mass every week, receive Eucharist and
pray daily but failed to be compassionate, merciful and were very judgmental of
those who were not of the same faith, nationality or social strata as them,
they would leave church and criticize someone because they didn’t dress as well
as they did or their skin was of a different color.
The Gospel ends by telling
us; “For behold some are last who will be
first, and some are first who will be last”
In this Jubilee Year of
Mercy, Pope Francis constantly is reminding us of the infinite mercy and love
of God for ALL His children and telling us to seek out that mercy as it is
freely given by God. We need to do that before it is too late as the Gospel
tells us this week.
In the Sermon on the Mount
Christ tells us too; “Let your light shine before men in such a way that
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” He
is advising us to not be ashamed to let people know we love God in the way the
Sermon on The Mount instructed when it said; “ Love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in
heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what
reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet
only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the
Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father
is perfect.”
God is calling us to be
caring for ALL of His children no matter who or where they are since every
human being on the face of the earth is a child of God.
The sermon also tells us
how we should pray when it teaches us this; When you pray, you are not to be
like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on
the street corners so that they may be seen by men. … When you pray, go into
your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and
your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In the sermon we are advised to be “ that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
In the sermon we are advised to be “ that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
During the time of Christ
the Sadducees tended to be wealthy and held powerful positions, including that
of chief priests and high priest.
A Pharisee was a man especially trained as an
expert in the Torah he was an official interpreter of the Law.
The most distinguished
position of the day was that of a scribe. He wore a special long robe and was
always given a seat of honor at public gatherings, such as the synagogue and
they were looked up as living models to be followed.
Today the equivalent of Scribes,
Sadducees and Pharisee’s would have to be the Hierarchy of all Churches who
have taken it upon themselves to determine who will be welcomed and who is not.
Some have even gone so far
as to prohibit people from worshiping “God and partaking of the Sacraments.
This was not Christ’s way
and it should not be ours.
Our job, as Christ’s
Presbyters, is to proclaim the infinite
mercy and love of God for ALL and instill a love of God and therefore his
teachings as found in the greatest Sermon of all given by Jesus Christ who as
we proclaim in the Creed every time we attend Mass is: “the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God
from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made,
consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men
and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was
incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the
third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge
the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end”.
Scripture tells us that God
acknowledged that Jesus was His son with these words; "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Luke 3:22).
Christ told us in the
Sermon on the Mount that he was sent by the Father "to fulfill God‘s law.” Jesus told us he came to give us a “New
Covenant” and in this week’s readings we are told that gaining everlasting
happiness among the heavenly elect will not be easy, it will be like trying to
enter a narrow gate, we won’t be able to enter if we are late to seek God’s
forgiveness and we certainly won’t be welcome if we consider ourselves better
than others.
I sum up this week’s
teachings with Christ’s own words;
Christ was sent by God “unless
our righteousness surpasses that of the scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees, we
will not be among those who are invited to partake in the banquet of
heaven.” AMEN
