Sunday August 25, 2019
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 123
A Reading from the Gospel according to Luke
Lk 13:22-30
Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
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."
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel reminds us that to enter the kingdom of God, we will need the strength that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had to trust in God’s goodness. Here are a few of St. Francis de Sales’ thoughts on developing the confidence to trust in God’s goodness:
Trust in God is the life of the soul. To develop trust in God we must learn to love God’s goodness. We can experience God’s goodness if we open up our heart and allow God to enter. We must learn to speak to God and hear God speak to us in the depths of our heart. It is here that we begin to acquire affection for the things of God.
It seems we lack strength and confidence to trust in God in times of trial. When we feel this way, we must say to Our Lord, ‘even though I feel no confidence in you, I know that you are my God, I place myself completely in your hands, and hope in your goodness’. While this is difficult to say it is not impossible. The more we recognize ourselves as lacking strength to trust in God, the greater reason we have to confidently trust in God’s goodness and mercy. In your soul, you are bringing forth Jesus Christ. Until He is born in you, you cannot help suffering from your labor. Yet, God is as gentle and merciful when we are weak and imperfect as when we are strong and perfect.
When our strength and confidence to love the things of God increases, we let go of our lesser loves that are not of God. Seeking only the kingdom of God and desiring to witness our trust in God’s goodness to others become life giving. When we trust in God, we will always reap the fruits of our confidence in God’s goodness. Like mariners, who to arrive at the port they are bound for, look at the sky above them rather than down on the sea on which they sail, so you ought to look to God. God will work with you, in you and for you. As a result, your confidence to trust in God’s goodness will be strengthened.
(Adapted from the writings of St. Francis de Sales)
