21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

LUKE 13:22-30
DID YOU EVER THINK ABOUT HEAVEN? WHEN I WAS LITTLE I IMAGINED IT AS A PLACE WHERE THERE WAS A LOT OF CANDY, NO SCHOOL, AND JUST FUN ALL THE TIME. THE ONLY THING THAT BOTHERED ME A LITTLE WAS THAT I SORT OF SUSPECTED THERE WOULD BE CHURCH, AND I'D HAVE TO STOP PLAYING EVERY NOW AND THEN AND PRAY. MOSLEMS HAVE A VERY DISTINCT IDEA OF HEAVEN, BECAUSE IT IS SPELLED OUT IN THE KORAN. IT IS A PLACE OF DELIGHT, WHERE ALL THE GOOD THINGS YOU COULD WANT ARE THERE INCLUDING A LARGE HAREM. I'M NOT SURE IT IS AS ATTRACTIVE TO MOSLEM WOMEN AS TO THE MEN.
BUT THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT IT THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO IMAGINE. AFTER ALL, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ETERNITY HERE, AND I CAN'T THINK OF ANYTHING IN ALL MY EXPERIENCE THAT WOULDN'T GET BORING AND OLD NOT IN FOREVER BUT EVEN IN A FEW YEARS. WE HUMAN BEINGS ARE DESIGNED SO THAT WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING WE HAVE REALLY WANTED, WE IMMEDIATELY WANT SOMETHING ELSE. WE ADULTS TELL OURSELVES DIFFERENTLY SOMETIMES, BUT JUST WATCH A KID WITH A NEW TOY THAT HE OR SHE HAS WANTED FOR A LONG TIME. GIVE HIM ABOUT A WEEK. ST. AUGUSTINE SAID THAT THIS FEELING OF NEVER BEING COMPLETELY SATISFIED WAS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SATISFY US IS BEING IN UNION WITH GOD.
WHAT WE DO KNOW ABOUT HEAVEN IS THAT WE CAN'T DESCRIBE IT. ST PAUL COULDN'T. WHAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT WE WILL BE UNITED TO THE TRINITY, AND THAT UNION IN SOME WAY WILL COMPLETELY SATISFY US, WILL COMPLETELY FILL US WITH JOY, WILL LAST FOREVER. AND THAT UNION IS ACCOMPLISHED ONLY BY OUR BECOMING ONE WITH JESUS. THAT IS WHAT HE MEANS BY “STRIVE TO ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE”. HE HAS CALLED HIMSELF “THE GATE” IN OTHER PARTS OF THE GOSPEL, AND INSISTED THAT WE HAD TO GO THROUGH HIM IF WE WANTED TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE WHO ACHIEVE THAT UNION WITH HIM ON THIS EARTH – SOME OF THE MYSTICS – AND OTHERS WHO HAVE HAD A MOMENT OR TWO IN THEIR LIVES WHEN THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED THAT UNION. BUT FOR MOST OF US, WE ARE STILL STRIVING, AND AS FOR ME, IF I WAKE UP IN PURGATORY SOME DAY, I WILL REALLY BE HAPPY.
JESUS MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THAT WE DON'T HAVE A CLAIM ON HEAVEN. IF WE ARE CATHOLIC, IF WE GO TO MASS EVERY SUNDAY OR EVEN EVERY DAY, IF WE FREQUENTLY RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS, IS THAT ENOUGH? JESUS SEEMS TO BE SAYING, “DON'T EVER THINK YOU HAVE IT MADE. THERE ARE GOING TO BE SOME REAL SURPRISES, AND YOU MIGHT FIND THAT YOU MISSED YOUR OPPORTUNITY. THERE IS A TIME WHEN THE HOUSEHOLDER WILL SHUT THE GATE, AND THAT WILL BE IT. IF WE ARE NOT ACTIVELY STRIVING TO ENTER THE GATE, STRIVING TO IMITATE JESUS, STRIVING TO KNOW HIM AND BE ONE WITH HIM, IF WE DON'T FEEL THAT SENSE OF EFFORT IN OUR LIVES, THEN SOMETHING MAY BE TERRIBLY WRONG AND WE BETTER MAKE IT RIGHT.
THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER, AND WE ARE ALL GETTING BACK INTO THE ROUTINE. WE'VE HAD TWO MONTHS WHEN THINGS HAVE BEEN A LITTLE MORE RELAXED, AND HOPEFULLY WE HAVE RE-ENERGIZED OURSELVES FOR THE NEXT TEN MONTHS. THIS IS A GOOD TIME TO TAKE STOCK. WILL THE COMING YEAR BE THE SAME AS LAST? OR WILL YOU AND I START SEPTEMBER WITH A SENSE OF URGENCY, A SENSE OF OPPORTUNITY, A DESIRE TO STRIVE, TO DRAW CLOSER TO JESUS?
DRAWING CLOSER IS NOT SOMETHING WE DO JUST IN OUR HEADS OR OUR HEARTS. IF WE WANT TO IMITATE JESUS, WE HAVE TO BEGIN TO ACT LIKE JESUS. IF WE WANT TO ACT LIKE JESUS, WHY OUR PARISH IS A GREAT PLACE TO START. JESUS TAUGHT; THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH OUR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE, OR HELP THOSE WHO TEACH, IN OUR FAITH FORMATION PROGRAM. JESUS BROUGHT PEOPLE TOGETHER. THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES SOME OF WHICH CAN BE A LOT OF FUN, IN THE COMING YEAR, WHEN THE PARISH HAS SOME SORT OF CELEBRATION OR EVENT. JESUS, AFTER ALL, SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN THE PLEASANT COMPANY OF FRIENDS. JESUS VISITED THE SICK AND DISTRAUGHT, AND OFTEN HIS PRESENCE BROUGHT ABOUT HEALING. WE HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO WORK WITH THE SICK, THE SHUT INS, THE PEOPLE WHO NEED JUST A LITTLE PRESENCE AND A SYMPATHETIC EAR. JESUS EVANGELIZED; HE WENT ABOUT TELLING PEOPLE THE GOOD NEWS. HE BROKE INTO THEIR CLOSED WORLD AND SHOWED THEM NEW POSSIBILITIES. THERE ARE MANY OPPORTUNITIES IN THIS PARISH TO EVANGELIZE. WE HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF PARISHIONERS WHO NEVER GO TO CHURCH. SOME OF THEM ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS. WE HAVE OTHER PARISHIONERS WHO COME TO CHURCH MOST SUNDAYS, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT. WE HAVE YOUNG MARRIED COUPLES WHO COULD BE INVITED TO BE MORE INVOLVED; WE HAVE NEW PARISHIONERS WHO COULD BE BEFRIENDED. BELIEVE ME, OUR PARISH DESPERATELY NEEDS EVANGELIZERS, EVEN BEFORE WE START GETTING OUT TO OUR NEIGHBORS WHO AREN'T CATHOLICS.
JESUS WAS A LEADER. HE CREATED A MOVEMENT THAT STARTED WITH 12 AND NOW INVOLVES ABOUT TWO BILLION. AND THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEADERSHIP IN THIS PARISH AS WELL AS FOLLOWERSHIP. WE NEED GOOD LEADERS AND GOOD FOLLOWERS, AND WHEN A LEADER AND A FEW FOLLOWERS GET TOGETHER TO ORGANIZE A PROJECT, THAT ISN'T A LOT DIFFERENT THAN WHEN JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES GOT TOGETHER TO DISTRIBUTE SOME BREAD AND FISH TO THE HUNGRY CROWDS, OR SET UP ONE OF THOSE SESSIONS WHEN JESUS HEALED PEOPLE WHO CAME TO HIM.
IN THE WEEKS AHEAD, YOUR PARISH COUNCIL WILL BE ORGANIZING ITSELF FOR THE COMING YEAR. MUCH OF THAT ORGANIZATION WILL HAVE TO DO WITH STUDYING THE NEEDS OF THE PARISH AND TRYING TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. AS THESE NEEDS ARE RECOGNIZED, YOU MAY BE CALLED UPON TO HELP. OR YOU MAY VOLUNTEER.
THE VARIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES OUR PARISH SPONSORS ARE ALL OPPORTUNITIES FOR PEOPLE TO SERVE EACH OTHER, AND IN DOING SO, TO SERVE THE LORD AND IMITATE HIM. PRAYER AND SACRAMENTS ARE ESSENTIAL, BUT SERVICE IS AS WELL, IF WE WANT TO STRIVE TO ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE. JESUS SAID, “LOVE ONE ANOTHER; HE SAID THAT WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS; HE EVEN TOLD US THAT WHEN WE SERVED EACH OTHER, WE WERE SERVING HIM. LOVE, BEING BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IS NOT JUST A FEELING.
SO PLEASE MAKE THIS YEAR DIFFERENT THAN PREVIOUS YEARS. TRY TO SEE THE SPIRITUAL ASPECTS OF SERVICE. AND WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORDS AT THE END OF MASS “GO AND SERVE THE LORD AND EACH OTHER,” THEY WILL NOT JUST BE WORDS, THEY WILL BE A CALL TO ACTION.