21st Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Meeting Jesus through the Gospel

1. Sit quietly, recollect yourself. Concentrate on Jesus. Call on the Holy Spirit*. Take your time. There is no rush and there is no fixed rule to follow. Be free in the Spirit.

2. Be aware that Jesus is with you. Use a mantra if you like, e.g. ‘Jesus, Jesus, Jesus ..’

3. Read the passage with Jesus who was there and in the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

4. Note the words and sentences that strike you.

5. Pray about these and ask the Lord to speak to you through his Spirit.

6. Keep a journal of the inspirations you are given for your life. Jesus is present to you and he is speaking to you.

7. If the passage is a ‘dramatic’ one try and live the passage in your imagination. Remember it is not just imagination because Jesus is present now with you. Put yourself in the scene.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes Jesus real.

* The Holy Spirit is the energy of God – wind, fire, water, Transforming Pentecostal Spirit, Giver of Wisdom, Understanding, Courage, Knowledge, Holiness. Advocate/Paraclete (Comforter, Consoler, Prosecuting Lawyer, Defence Lawyer, Helper),  leads into whole truth, reminds you of all that Jesus taught,  speaks Jesus’ words, will speak through you, dwells within you,   prays for you, leads you, power of God,  who knows the very depths of God, the Bond of Love between Father and Son, Sanctifier. He continues the work of Jesus in the world through you and me.

 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time C

Isaiah 66:18-21. Psalm 116, Rv. Mark16:15, Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13,

The Lord says: I am coming to gather the nations.

When the Lord corrects you do not treat it lightly.

Strong is his love for us.

Try your best to enter by the narrow door.

Luke 13:22-30

Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. ²³ Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them, ²⁴ 'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. ²⁵ 'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from." ²⁶ Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," ²⁷ but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!" ²⁸ 'Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. ²⁹ And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. ³⁰ 'Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'

 Become the friend of ‘the master of the house’

How to get in.

Jesus is on his great journey towards Jerusalem. It’s not a picnic that he is going on. Jerusalem means death and he knows it. We too are on a journey. The end of our journey is death. As for Jesus, death is a gateway. 

Jesus finds it difficult to explain life after death. Not because he doesn’t know, but there are no words to describe what we have not experienced. He has to use images. Today he likens it to a feast in a rich man’s house.

Someone had asked him, ‘are many people going to be saved’. Typical of Jesus, he doesn’t play to our curiosity. Down to earth, he says, ‘It’s a narrow door. Make sure you get in.’ Though late and the door is shut there is still the possibility of getting in. The point is, we are all going to be late! Everyone has to knock! Entrance is not, however, guaranteed. The owner of the house will come to the door and look through the grille. If he recognizes you he will let you in. But if he says, ‘I don’t know you’ then you are in trouble. The door remains closed and you remain outside. You might remonstrate, ‘I was a Catholic’ or ‘I was a member of the reformed Church’. ‘I went to church every week’; ‘I was a member of the choir and sang for the Pope’. Someone might even say, ‘I was the Pope’. But if the owner still says, ‘I don’t know where you come from, that is the end’. However many will get in and they will come from the east and the west and join in the feasting. There will be many surprises.

This life we experience is wonderful in every way. Is there any meaning to it? Yes, it is this. It is our opportunity to enter into an even more wonderful life which is everlasting. And what is the secret?  Jesus tells us, even if negatively. The master of the house turns people away because as he says, ‘I don’t know you’. If he does know you and you are his friend then he lets you in.

The moral is clear. In this life the main thing is not to make money, or a name, get power and influence. These are useless at the critical moment. The main thing in life is to become the friend of ‘the master of the house’. Get to know Jesus. Become his friend, his intimate friend. He isn’t far away: ‘I stand at the door and knock. If you open I will come in and we will dine together’. Then at the critical moment in our existence and we stand at another door and knock, he will open and the feasting will begin.

Father, may I know, love and serve Jesus in this life so I may not be turned away when I knock on your door.