16-Aug-2013 Dear Friend,
Whether we admit it or not, we like to consider ourselves as special people, more knowledgeable and likeable than others. Conversely, we tend to look down on people different from us and exclude them from our company. We like to believe we belong to an elite club and should be treated accordingly. God has different criteria from ours, for entry into His kingdom, He excludes no one! Have a grateful weekend thanking God for his open invitation to his kingdom! Fr. Jude Sunday Reflections: 21st Sunday of the Year: “All are welcome here! Enter by the Narrow gate!” 25-Aug-2013 Readings: Isaiah 66: 18-21Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13Luke 13: 22-30 The first reading from the last part of the Book of Isaiah is a prophecy of consolation for the community of Israel that had been gathered again after the exile, but who were still experiencing difficulty and uncertainty about their future. The prophet proclaims a glorious future in which mankind’s covenant with God is opened to the whole human family. Returnees from every part of the then known world, who had been scattered would return to Jerusalem. Nations of every culture and race will lead the Israelites home. Salvation is extended to all the ends of the earth. For it is through holiness that one will enter the city of God. Jerusalem! My Happy Home! A little boy always wanted to visit the place where heaven and earth meet. He could see quite plainly from his mother’s cottage and he thought the place where heaven came down to earth must be very beautiful. With his eyes fixed on the horizon, ‘the meeting place of heaven and earth’, he began, one day, to walk. He walked on and on until he became very tired. He found himself in a valley where the horizon lay hidden from view. A cottage was near and a woman was standing in the door. He told her of his quest, and she pointed out a house not so very far away. “There it is,” she said, “only hurry; it will soon be dark.” He hurried on and was soon climbing the hill that led to his own home. And there in the doorway was his mother waving to him. “My own home,” he thought to himself, “is the place where heaven and earth meet.” Frank Michalic in ‘1000 Stories You Can Use’ The key idea of St. Luke’s gospel is a symbol of Christian life: a pilgrimage to our heavenly home. We are constantly on the way to the heavenly home. We must make sure that we are on the right way and that we are moving in the right direction. Will everyone reach their final destination? Will everyone who journeys be saved? Jesus never answers the question about the number to be saved. He stresses rather the effort to be made on the journey and that the way is narrow and not easy. Secondly, Jesus speaks about the closed door, namely people cannot take for granted that just because they are along the way, just because of set rituals and practices, they will be saved. There is nothing that definitely guarantees automatic salvation. There are neither reserved places nor favoured people whose salvation is guaranteed. Yet, on the other hand, no one is excluded from heaven. God has no favourites because everyone is a favourite of God! Heaven will be full of surprises. Many who are despised on earth will find themselves in heaven and many who considered themselves holy and better than others, may not find themselves among the chosen ones in heaven. The Jews had considered themselves the chosen ones of God and that their God was only the God of Israel. Jesus reminds them that many pagans and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of God, while many of the Jews who rejected God and his chosen Messiah, will be excluded from God’s kingdom. “Those who are now last will be the first, and those who are now first will be the last.” The last shall be first! Barbara Hutton, the Woolworth heiress, was known as the ‘poor little rich girl.’ Since her mother died when she was five, Barbara Hutton described her childhood as an unhappy one. She said, “Though I had millions of dollars, I had no mother and no home.” Nor was her adult life a happy one. She was married seven times and was a princess three of those times. A virtual recluse, she died in 1979 at age 66. A newspaper article summed up her life with the words: “Barbra Hutton died unmarried and alone, a symbol of the cliché that money does not buy happiness.” By way of contrast, consider the life of Dorothy Day. She was known as “the mother of the faceless poor of the city’s offscouring.” She always felt she existed for a special purpose. She discovered that purpose when she became a Catholic at age 30 and dedicated her life to help the poor. Dorothy Day founded and edited the Catholic Worker newspaper, went to prison as a suffragist and pacifist, and established farm communes and hospices for the dispossessed. When she died in 1980 at age 83, Time magazine called her a “secular saint”. Barbara Hutton and Dorothy Day illustrate somewhat the proverb cited by our Lord today: “There are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.” Albert Cylwicki in “His Word Resounds” There are none so blind as those who will not see! An atheistic scientist not only denied the existence of God but also vehemently maintained that the world had come about by chance and was certainly not the work of an Almighty and Omniscient creator. His Christian colleague was a firm believer and so, as could be expected, all conversations between the two ended with the polite decision to respect each other’s viewpoint, even though they were radically different. One day the Christian scientist ingeniously devised a model of the entire Solar System. At a mere touch of a button, all the planets would revolve around the sun in perfect harmony. He invited the atheistic scientist to view his invention and instructed him to press a button. The atheistic scientist was astounded to see the marvelous model come alive with flawless coordination. Fascinated, he asked, “Who made this?” “No one,” returned the Christian scientist, “it just came about by chance.” “You’re joking! This cannot come about by chance. It requires the ingenuity of a very intelligent person.” At this the Christian scientist said, “This is a mere model and you believe it has to be done by a human being who is intelligent. How much wiser is the Person who created the unfathomable reality and with such flawless wisdom and perfection!” Moved by the grace of God, the scientist rejected his atheism and humbly professed his belief in God! –This scientist is a real example of what Jesus means when he says in today’s gospel that the gate to God’s kingdom is narrow. It isn’t narrow because God made it that way, but because it calls for a definite decision and commitment, and that is something that only a few freely and deliberately make. James Valladares in ‘Your words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They are life” The kingdom of heaven is not a private club! A man died and went up to heaven. St. Peter met him at the gate, brought him inside and took him on a tour of the place. At a certain point they came to an enclosure surrounded by a high wall. As they were passing it Peter said, “Keep very quiet as you pass this place.” “Why,” the man asked. “In case we might disturb those inside,” Peter answered. “Who is inside?” the man asked. St. Peter said, “Catholics. You see, they think they are the only ones in heaven. In fact if they found out that there are others in heaven, they would be very disappointed. In fact, some of them would probably ask for their money back!” The kingdom of heaven is not a private club. John Pichappilly in ‘The Table of the Word’ The narrow door? In an interesting cartoon in thePeanuts series, Charlie Brown wakes up one morning and looks out of the window. It has snowed all night but now the sun is shining brightly, so he decides to go out skiing. Donning all the winter gear he can find, he collects his shoes and skis and makes for the door. Unfortunately, he is unable to get through, because the clothes he has worn make it impossible to pass. He makes one unsuccessful effort after another. Finally, in desperate frustration, he screams at the top of his lungs: “Will someone please tell me what I have to do to get through this door?” Charlie Brown typifies those who would like to make it to heaven, but are reluctant to shed the unnecessary attachments that impede their passage. So like Charlie, we end up standing at the front door of heaven screaming. The door of heaven is narrow only for those who are too ‘bundled up’. James Valladares in ‘Your words, O Lord, Are Spirit, and They are life” Which Way to go? “To every person there opens a way; a high way, a middle way, and a low way. And the high soul takes the high way; and the low soul takes the low way; and in between on the misty flats, the rest drift to and fro. But to every person there opens a way; a high way, a middle way, and a low way. And every person decides the way his soul shall go.” Paraphrase of a Poem by John Oxenham May we walk the narrow way that leads to God! Fr. Jude Botelho botelhoj...@gmail.com PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
