the Good News – deacon rudy's notes

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 117:1, 2
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” (Luke 13:23) Talk about insecurity!

Today’s first reading from Isaiah 66:18-21, and the Gospel reading from Luke 13:22-30, really speak to us about God’s infinite mercy for everyone.

But those who were walking with Jesus, witnessing all his works, presumably calling themselves his disciples, still lacked confidence that they would be saved. I don’t know anybody like that, do you?

Then Jesus says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door,” (Luke 13:24). Jesus isn’t talking about some strange gnostic or Calvinist idea of predestination. No! The Greek word that is used for “strive” is the word we get “agony” from, which in this case means strenuous athletic effort. This is much like the “agony” athletes go through – the effort, the energy, pain and dedication it takes to compete in the Olympics for example. Years of dedication and effort, and yet not all who try will make it to through the narrow gate of competition. Not all will make it to the Olympics. This is the way Jesus describes the path of the disciple.

But wait! There’s more!

Jesus goes on to say, “After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth…” (Luke 13:25-28).

Later, Jesus says that, “…people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south…some who are last who will be first, and some who are first who will be last” (Luke 13:29-30), and the implication is that it might not be them. Now think about that…you’ve been walking with Jesus, but you find yourself outside and others you don’t even know will come from all parts of the world and they, they who did not personally walk with Jesus, might be allowed inside.

Whoa!

This is what should give all of us pause. It doesn’t matter whether you’re sitting in the pew on a regular basis, or you faithfully serve all the time, as clergy or a lay minister. Why? There is no salvation by association, and we can’t earn our way into heaven by going to church or serving the community.

What then does it take and why does Jesus call it the narrow gate?

I have to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. What does it mean to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior? It means I have to surrender. I accept that Jesus is the Lord of my life, and that I am not the lord of the manner. It’s not my life to live however I want to live whenever I want to live and doing whatever I want. My purpose isn’t to satisfy every one of my hedonistic or narcissistic desires. I have to acknowledge that God created me for a purpose, and that I need to discover and live that purpose as faithfully as possible.

Okay, so I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior. Now what? Our responsorial psalm today reminds us that we need to, “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” That’s the response we make to Psalm 117.

As a disciple, I am called to go out into the world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. I need to share the Good News with those who can’t come to church, don’t come to church or won’t come to church. That’s a big challenge. Look at what’s happening in the world all around us. Once again, we see the rise of nationalism, the rise of bigotry, of hatred, of racism. The world once again is ignoring the lessons paid for with the blood of our fathers and grandfathers who fought to end all wars. The world marches almost gleefully into darkness.

But we, the children of the light, are called to share the light of Jesus Christ with those cast in darkness. That takes great courage, but indeed that is the kind of person who will enter through the narrow gate – those who accept Jesus Christ and who aren’t afraid to spread the Good News about God’s infinite, unmerited, undeserved gift of mercy for all of His creation.

You can’t be born into salvation. Salvation isn’t limited to some racial or ethnic group. Salvation isn’t offered to those who work hard at being good people. Salvation is offered to those who accept the Lord’s invitation. All it takes is our free response.

Are you ready?

Homework! I encourage you to spend some time this week reflecting on the following questions.

First, have I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior? Maybe I’ve been living like a Christian by default, either by birth, expectation or obligation? Or maybe I haven’t opened myself up to Jesus Christ.
Second, have I surrendered by life to Jesus Christ? Or do I still have the arrogance to think it’s my way.

I think by doing our homework today, we can deepen our resolve as disciples of Jesus Christ and help bring the message of hope to a world that desperately needs to hear it. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

One Voice Article - 2017 Catechist Conference Promotion

Mass Readings

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
February 4, 2018
Reading 1 – Job 7:1-4,6-7
Psalm – Psalm 147:1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Reading 2 – 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Gospel – Mark 1:29-39

Once my wife and I hosted a Christmas party for her employer. As is typical, there was an exchange of gifts. In the gift that her boss received was a fake lottery ticket with bold writing: MATCH THREE AND WIN. So, he scratched the first box: $1 million. He, thought, “Ok.” He scratched the second box: $1 million. You see where this is going. He scratched the third box: $1 million. He jumped up and cheered! He was so excited! He did running man in my living room! Bit of a nasty shock for him when he figured out the truth.

Isn’t it funny how we’re so eager to share any kinds of news? But when it comes to sharing our faith, so many of us are afraid to talk. In fact, society tells us we shouldn’t talk politics or religion, right? But that’s exactly what Scripture is challenging us today to do.

Today’s Gospel is a continuation of last week’s message. What did we learn last week? We learned that Jesus Christ has been given all authority and all power. The challenge of the readings last week, I believe, is how do we live out missionary discipleship? How do we live lives in witness to the authority of Jesus Christ?

What’s a disciple? Three things: a disciple accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior; a disciple seeks to learn more about Jesus; and a disciple goes out to share the good news of Jesus Christ, to become what Pope Francis calls a missionary disciple.

Today’s readings builds on this idea from last week. The Psalm tells us the Lord heals the brokenhearted. We heard a reading from Job, but we know how that story ends. God restores Job and he lives a long life to see his children and his grandchildren and even his great grandchildren. In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus performing many more miracles. He heals and he cures.

But Jesus doesn’t heal for the sake of healing. No! Jesus is trying to connect with the people so that they will open up to him, so that they might receive the Good News and be saved. Then Jesus says, “Let us go on to nearby villages.”

Look what happens when he heals Simon’s mother-in-law. After she’s healed, she gets up and serves them. After he’s healed and cured, Jesus says let’s go out to the nearby villages. The Gospel is trying to tell us that our right response to the healing power of Jesus is to go out and share the Good News.

My brothers and sisters, that’s our great challenge too! But we don’t need new miracles. The miracle already happened! Jesus came into this world and walked among us. That’s what Christmas is all about. He taught and he preached. Jesus allowed himself to be tortured and crucified for you and for me. What’s my response, then, to God’s saving action in my life? What is the fruit of God’s work in my life?

What is the fruit of God’s work in our own lives? Do I walk the walk, or do I just talk the talk? Ask me, “What can I do?” I’m so glad you asked! This is a great time to talk about what we can do as we prepare for Lent.

You know when you fly on an airplane, they say in the event of a loss of cabin pressure, oxygen masks will drop down. You need to put the mask on yourself before you help someone else. Discipleship is very similar. I need to work on myself as I’m reaching out to other people. How do I do that?

Do I come to confession? You see, in confession, I cannot just glibly say, “I’m sorry.” No! I need to list my sins. I say them! I need to own them! Then I ask for forgiveness. Do I receive the healing power of the Sacrament of Reconciliation?

I need to come to mass – often – not just on the weekends. I should try to go to daily mass at least once during the week either here or at a church near where you work. You see at mass, we are nourished by the Word of God and then we come forward to receive the body, the blood, the soul and the divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. So that fully nourished, I can go out there and share a message of hope in a dark world.

That’s what Paul is talking about in Corinthians. His fruit is that he made himself a slave to the Kingdom of God to save as many people as possible. That is our challenge too – to bear fruit through our missionary discipleship.

How? First, I need to be able to more openly share my faith with my family and friends. For example, when we eat, do I make the sign of the cross and pray before meals – even in restaurants. Do I walk the walk? I can discuss the homily I heard in mass with my family and friends. I can invite friends and family to come to mass and to come to parish activities like the upcoming Knights of Columbus fish fry. You don’t have to be Catholic to participate. Why not invite people to come.

I can also help people who are missionaries, people who go out into the world to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. I can help them with my prayers. I can help them with some money. Maybe I can even go on a mission trip too. What do missionaries do? There’s all kinds of missionaries who do all sorts of things.

Let’s talk about some things that we at Friends of Los Niños do. We like to share the love of Jesus Christ in Honduras especially with children through various projects and especially through the orphanage we where we spend most of our time. Let me share with you a story about that orphanage. One morning a child was brought to the orphanage after spending the whole night next to the bodies of his dead parents. It was a drug deal gone wrong. Sr. Teresita, the nun who started the orphanage, tried to show him the boys dormitory where he would be staying and tried to get him to unpack his things. But he said, “NO. Today is my birthday. My dad is coming to pick me up and he’s going to bring a big cake.” Later in the day when he started getting a little restless, Sister asked him if he wanted to go take a nap. He yelled out, “NO. Today is my birthday. My dad is coming to pick me up and he is going to bring a big cake.” Near the end of the day when his dad didn’t come, his eyes got really big and he said, “My dad isn’t coming, is he?”

There are no words – no words to help a child like that! All we can do is wrap him in a huge bear hug and tell him he is loved. We use the money we raise, especially from our monthly sponsorships, to pay for his care at the orphanage and to pay for his education so that his life might bear fruit – so that his life doesn’t meet the end of a drug dealer’s gun.

Missionary work doesn’t have to be something extraordinary. It starts with people like you and me living our lives of faith openly. People who are willing to share the Good News of Jesus Christ by our word and example. Hopefully through the way we live our lives, someone might have an encounter with Jesus, an encounter that leads to transformation, transformation that leads to salvation.

Homework! Oh yes, even on this Super Bowl Sunday, we all have homework! There are two things I ask you to consider. After you come forward to receive the Eucharist or to receive a blessing and return to your place to pray:

First, ask yourself before God, “How do I live a life of missionary discipleship? How do I walk the walk?”

Second, ask yourself, “During this upcoming season of Lent, how can I sacrifice my time, talents, and treasure to support the missionary work of the Church?”

I think if we do our homework, it will help us develop our sense of discipleships so that we can go out into the world and share the Good News!

Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! Through the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, may we all come to love and to serve Jesus. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen!

To learn more about our work at Friends of los Niños, check out our website at https://www.friendsoflosninos.org.

There are three ways you can help us out: