August 22, 2010
TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR
22 AUGUST 2010, 5:15, 8:00, 10:00
READINGS: Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30
SAINT MARY PARISH, VIROQUA
Introduction: In this part of Luke’s gospel Jesus is making his final journey to Jerusalem. He knows what awaits him there. On the way he teaches us what is necessary for us to make the journey with him to heaven.
1. He teaches us that we must enter by the narrow gate! A few years ago I saw a Charlie Brown cartoon which showed him going skiing. He put on his bulky clothes, his fur hat, large shoes, and heavy gloves. He then strapped on his snowshoes across his front and crisscrossed his skis and poles across his back. He hung his camera and his first aid kit over his coat. Finally, he was all ready; the only problem was, with all that “stuff” on him, he could not get through the door. That is the meaning of the narrow door. Okay, we all know that too much love of possessions can prevent us from growing in holiness with God. Today, let’s look at a different meaning of this statement.
2. What if we are standing before the door and are unable to get through because we’re loaded down, not with sins, but with unfulfilled dreams, unshared hopes, unused wisdom, even lives that were never shared. A woman had died young. Her husband and her sister were going through her things in a bureau. He found a dress she had bought years ago, a very expensive dress. When he found it he said to his sister-in-law, “Jan bought this the first time we went to New York. She never wore it. She was saving it for a “special occasion.” He put it on the bed with the other clothes they were taking to the mortician. Then, he slammed the door shut and said, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion.” Life, my friends, is meant to be lived. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life – and have it in abundance.”
3. Many prominent writers will agree and show us how to live in the right kind of abundance. Abraham Heschel says “There are three things necessary to attain a sense of significant being: God, a Soul and a Moment. And all three are always here.” Any time is a good time to draw closer to God. Every moment is a “special occasion!” One poet wrote, “Alas, those who never sing, but die with their song within them.” (O.W. Holmes) St. John of the Cross wrote, “In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.”
So, how can we live “more fully”? Speak those words of apology; or of forgiveness. Show the children you love them, and tell them too. Commit to Sunday Mass every Sunday. Volunteer in that community organization. What else expands our vision? Interest in art, in literature, in travel, welcoming new people into our lives, prayer. Devote yourself to Jesus Christ. Remember that “God is of no importance unless he is of supreme importance.” (AJH)
Conclusion: We should be mindful about how to live life to the full. It’s how we get through the narrow gate! Finally, listen to the advice of Mother Teresa. “You can do something I can’t do. I can do something you can’t do. Together let us do something beautiful for God.” If we live in this way we might just see the narrow gate – and beyond it, the table of the kingdom of God.