It is no accident that the words “disciple” and “discipline” come from the same root: Latin disciplina, meaning “teaching.” As disciples of the Lord, we are taught through discipline. We need that discipline when we are tempted to compromise our ethics or ignore our conscience and do something we shouldn’t or fail to do something we should. Hebrews reminds us today that God’s discipline is given out of love, to keep our conscience strong and our feet on the narrow path. May we keep to the discipline of being a true disciple and resolve to learn from our missteps.
Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
Today’s responsorial psalm comes from the shortest psalm of all, in fact the shortest chapter of the entire Bible. Yet it says all that needs be said: God is kind and faithful forever, and we all should praise and glorify God. It is God’s kindness that guides us on the right path and forgives us when we stray. It is God’s faithfulness that gives us hope that despite our sinfulness we will one day have a home in the king- dom. Today as we listen to God’s word, let us give praise and glory for God’s goodness.
Reflections
• “Make straight paths for your feet,” we hear in Hebrews (12:13). In the Gos- pel, Jesus tells us, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate” (Luke 13:24). We are told, in other words, to keep to the straight and narrow. Later on his journey to Jerusalem, Jesus will compare entering God’s kingdom to a camel passing through the eye of a needle. Sounds as though the answer to the question at the opening of today’s Gospel, “Will only a few people be saved?” (Luke 13:23) is an emphatic “Yes!”
• But wait. Jesus goes on to say that people are coming from every direction on the compass and they will all make it into the kingdom of God. This echoes God’s words in Isaiah, “I come to gather nations of every language” (66:18). Isaiah’s words are radical to his Jewish audience. They were the Chosen People, after all, the ones on that straight and narrow path. Now they’re told they must yield to Gentiles from these far-off places spread over Africa, Asia, and Europe. For those who thought they had the inside track to salvation, it would be sobering to hear Jesus say that “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Luke 13:30).
• It is revealing that the same Jesus who warned us about the narrow gate opened his arms wide on the cross to redeem the world. It is the wideness of God’s mercy, not our ability to stick to the straight and narrow, that determines whether we end up reclining at table in God’s kingdom. By all means, we should strive to be a disciple, to aim for that narrow gate. We are called to focus our attention, our discipleship, on what is truly important, discarding whatever distracts us from that focus, that prevents us from concentrating on striving toward the kingdom. But we must always recognize that we are not the ones in charge.
Question of the Week
How will I strive this week to aim for the narrow gate? How can I assist those outside my comfort zone as they strive to enter the narrow gate as well?
-from Pastoral Patterns
readings of the mass
LISTEN HEREto the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, August 21st, 2022, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
SELECT HEREfor the Readings of Sunday, August 21st, 2022, Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS
Reflections
“For behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
Our cultural standards are different from God’s standards. We often rank people by what they have, how powerful they are, or how successful they are. Jesus reminds us that God will not judge us by the same earthly standards. When God asks you, “What have you done with the gifts I have given you?” How will you respond?
