Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
The last time these reading were read in church, my third practical implication generated a lot of good conversation. So I want to begin my homily with some of these questions that I raised then. If you had the opportunity to decide what heaven would be like, what would you do? Who will make it into your heaven? Would only Catholics make it to your heaven? If you have a child or a brother or a sister or parents who is not Catholic would they make it? Would a just and upright Hindu, Buddhist, Jew or Muslim make it? Will an addict Catholic make it? Will a Catholic murderer who has since repented and is on death row make it? Will a Catholic illegal immigrant working hard to pay for his mother’s cancer treatment back at home make it? Will your pet make it? Will your pet make it over non-believer?
I am often asked the question that someone in the crowd asked Jesus: ““Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Most of the time the question is, “Who will go in heaven?” The reason behind this question is very real. It is asked by couples where one of them is not Catholic or even Christian, by parents whose children have left the church or stopped believing and by people that have someone they love very much but live compromised lives. I have asked this question myself. Will I be one of those people in today’s gospel to whom God might say, ‘I do not know where you are from?’ Are there answers to these questions?
Unfortunately, the answer that Jesus gave to the person who asked the question is rather ambiguous. I wish he had given a simpler and direct answer but he did not. That leaves us with the task of having to figuring out this answer. Let me attempt to reflect with you that answer to this question in my three points.
a) The ambiguity in the Scriptures. The New Testament itself has no one single answer to the question, “Who will be saved?” In Matthew 25: 31-46, acceptance or rejection from the Kingdom depends on the “feeding, clothing, or caring for the least.” Those who cared about the least will be welcomed into the kingdom. The rest will go off to eternal punishment. In the beatitudes, the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers, the ones who mourn, the persecuted are the ones to whom the Kingdom is promised (Mt 5: 1-12). In both these places there is no indication those who are saved have to be believers. Perhaps faith in Jesus is presumed. But the criterion to be saved is works of charity. On the other hand, there are other scripture passages, which seem to suggest that the only way to be saved is to have explicit faith in Jesus. For example, in the gospel of John, Jesus says, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). In the letter to Romans, St Paul says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). In the Act of the apostles it is even easier. Acts 2:21 says, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But Jesus also says in Mt 7:21, “Not everyone who calls out to me, 'Lord! Lord!'will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. While scriptures seem to give varied answers to the question about who will be saved, it is very clear that not everyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. Even some people who ate and drank with the Lord, (Lk 13:26-27) people who prophesied, cast out demons and did powerful deeds in Christ’s name will not be saved. (Matt 7:21-23).
b) Can we make any conclusions about the mind of God on this question? The answer seems to be, yes. I want to draw some conclusions from today’s first reading. This reading is from the very end of the book of Isaiah. Scripture scholars tell us that the book of Isaiah is probably the work of three authors over an extended period of time. Today’s reading comes from the third section. This means that it was after the people returned to Judah after the exile. As the people settle down back in their Promised Land, they try to imagine what the rebuilt nation will look like. They settle for a narrow vision – Promised Land for the promised people. But God has a broader vision. God says, “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” And then Isaiah lists nations such as Tarshish, Put, Lud, Mosoch, Tubal, Javan and other distant coastlands. As I said, the reading is an insight into God’s mind. It seems that God wants to be welcoming of all people to approach God’s glory. This may means a larger group of people than we anticipate may be saved.
c) “Who will be saved?” Jesus’ answer to this question is, “Strive!” “Strive to enter by the narrow gate.” (Lk 13:24). The “two ways” or “two gates” metaphor was common in pagan religions as well as in the Old Testament. The choice in the Old Testament was clear: God said to the people of Israel, “Here, then, I set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God… loving him and walking in his ways… you will live…. If however, you turn away… I tell you now that you will certainly perish” (Deut 30:15-18). I think Jesus is saying something similar when he says, “Strive to enter by the narrow gate.” Just like in the Old Testament God placed the commandments before the people, today God has placed Jesus before us. His life, his thoughts, his words and his ministry is a paradigm for every human person on the face of the earth. Those who ‘strive’ to be like him are the ones who try to enter through the “narrow gate.” In other words, no one is just going to laze into the kingdom or even leisurely walk in to the kingdom. People will only “strive” into the kingdom. So Paul says in today’s second reading, “So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet….” That road is hard but also leads to immense goodness. Those who walk this path, enter through the narrow gate, and try to be Jesus to the world will be welcomed by God. Some of those who strive and make it to heaven may not necessarily be the ones we think should be saved. If I am to believe Isaiah, God’s mind is broader than ours and yes, those that we exclude may get there before us and we may find ourselves excluded.
So let me get back to my original question. Who will make it your heaven?
- Fr. Satish Joseph