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WEEKEND HOMILY © Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church 2010 ![]() Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time August 22, 2010
Culture and tradition speak very loudly to us
sometimes whether we realize it or not. The way we celebrate
birthdays, what we have for holiday dinners and the kinds of
things we hold to be beautiful are often times a result of
culture we grow up in and the kinds of traditions that have been
passed on to us. As a result we sometimes find ourselves doing
things even when we don’t completely understand why and the
meaning may have been lost.
For instance, there is the story of an adult daughter who was
helping her mother make a traditional dish as part of their
cultural celebration. It was a long and tedious job. The dish
being made had to be done in a very specific way and if it
wasn’t, then it couldn’t be used. Many times, steps had to be
repeated or the project had to be started over, until finally,
in exasperated frustration the daughter questioned her mother as
to why they were doing this, because when everything was said
and done, the completed recipe didn’t even taste good. In
surprise, her mother responded, it isn’t supposed to taste good,
it’s supposed to be hard to make. In other words, the value of
the task wasn’t found in the end product, it was found in the
process of sacrifice.
Similarly, the narrow gate in the gospel for today isn’t
supposed to be difficult, it’s supposed to help us to stay
focused on our faith and to grow in our holiness, because, left
to our own devices, out of laziness, we will create God in our
own image rather than strive to follow the will of God and
recognize that we are created in God’s own image.
To illustrate the point, Jesus offers us a story of the Master
who has locked the door while those who are outside are pleading
to be let in. Those on the outside feel that since they have
eaten and drunk with the Master of the house and that they
recognize him from a distance, that they will be admitted,
despite the fact that it is too late. In spite of their
pleading, the Master casts them away into the darkness where
there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Because of their
casual relationship with the Master, he tells them that he does
not know them and casts them into a place of pain, suffering and
punishment.
It isn’t too difficult to see that Jesus is creating an analogy
in His parable where the doors that have been locked are the
doors to the kingdom of heaven, and those people pleading to get
in are those who have neglected their spiritual lives on earth
and their relationship with God, through a lack of spiritual
discipline. The point of all of this though is to show that any
relationship that is worth having is worth the work, because
from our perspective and in reference to the kingdom of heaven,
we have everything to gain by prayerfully building our
relationship with God and everything to lose, if we choose to
not pursue the narrow gate.
In spiritual discipline, the narrow gate is found through
prayer, through a life of holiness, through knowledge of the
word of God and in the sacraments of the Church, as they keep us
focused on the love of God. Deviation from the narrow gate is
found in following our own path apart from the will of God,
presuming that God will be okay with what we are doing. If
heaven is the reward for a holy life well lived, then living a
life apart from the will of God and then expecting to be
rewarded with heaven is kind of like expecting to be paid for a
job we have never been to or ever worked at.
Once the gate of heaven has been closed through our actions,
misdeeds or our indifference, then there is no turning back.
It’s not so much a matter of changing the mind of God once this
happens, as God is simply going along with the choices we have
made and is responding to our decisions.
The narrow gate isn’t meant to be difficult, it is meant to keep
us on the right path to holiness so that through spiritual
discipline we will know the will of God and build a relationship
with God that makes us familiar with Him and joyfully focused on
avoiding sin.
Everyone is different and unique, an irreplaceable person
created in the image and likeness of God, and as such we all
have our own individual paths to holiness and to God. As we live
our Christian lives though, we need to realize, that is not
enough to have a casual relationship with God making up our own
rules as we go along, as God is passionate about a relationship
with us and demands we pay attention to the narrow gate leading
to the Kingdom of Heaven as there is no alternate route. This is
offered to us, so that we will not stand outside and knock,
pleading to be let in. Rather, we need to travel the path of
holiness through spiritual discipline, to find the narrow gate
standing open and waiting for us, welcoming all who have come to
know God and loving His ways.
ARCHIVED HOMILIES Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time |