1. -- Lanie LeBlanc OP -
2. -- Dennis Keller OP -
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5. --(Your reflection can be here!)

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        The readings this Sunday have much to contemplate.   In the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, we get a short lesson on God’s inclusivity.   In the second one, we are asked to think a bit deeper about the purpose of discipline.   Our Gospel contains one of those soul- searching questions about how we are living our lives.  Two of these topics seem particularly intertwined.

The selection from the Letter to the Hebrews seems to apply to many of the trials and difficulties that are evident in our times.   Is God the Bad Guy here or is God the God of love?   I think that one’s perception of what is going on needs to be based on a glimpse of God’s panorama view.   Expanding our present feelings in that way can tip this necessary weighing in the favor of the Divine Who is all loving!   I like the term “training” as a label for current events rather than “punishment” for past deeds. It helps me to bear burdens and consult the Divine much more easily!  

That perspective leads me to the important question I find embedded in Jesus’s words in the Gospel.   How is the Divine going to recognize us when each of us stands before the Throne? I think each of us is made in God’s multi-faceted image and, therefore, good. Will what we have done and what we have failed to do still allow the Divine to recognize the Divine in us? Time to take inventory using Jesus’s life as our comparison checklist. Hmm, come to think of it, that checklist also includes the inclusivity mentioned in the first reading as well.

Blessings,

Dr. Lanie LeBlanc OP

Southern Dominican Laity

lanie@leblanc.one

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Twenty First Sunday of Ordered Time

August 24, 2025

Isaiah 66:18-21; Responsorial Psalm 117; Hebrews 12:5-7 & 11-13;
Gospel Acclamation John 14:6; Luke 13:22-30

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem. He prepares himself and his followers for the great contest he is about to engage. The opposition is the Sadducees, the Sanhedrin, and the leaders in the persons of the Chief Priests. That group forces the civil government to participate. In that way the religious leadership would have cover from accusation by the followers of Jesus. Prophets, historically, suffered persecution from religious and civil leadership. Many were murdered. Jesus’ contest would overcome the hypocrisy of religious leadership and the violence and power of the way of the empire. In that contest it appeared that the opposition won when Jesus died in such a horrific manner. His victory came in his resurrection. In that victory the religious and civil leadership did not succeed in eliminating Jesus and his message.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus is asked “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” That question is asked because the questioner expects an answer based on membership in the chosen people. This question denies salvation to the gentiles. Jesus’ answer is not an answer. Instead, he denies that association with a cult or being a member of the chosen people by birth is the key to entering the Kingdom of God. Entering by the narrow gate means to live a life in conformity to the Gospel. That Gospel insists we love one another and care for one another. That is an imitation of God who loves all that God created. God’s care and love is not a wide open gate only for our families, our parish members, the citizens of our nation. That care and love of God extends to all. That’s the narrow gate that requires struggle. How difficult is it to care for and love a neighbor, a co-worker, a terribly ineffective superior? What about the partisanship we experience in leadership and politics? What about someone who has harmed us or our family? Applying this love in our lives to all and to everything helps us understand Jesus’ words: “many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” In addition to the strength required to care for and love all others, there is a time limit. Once the door is closed, the master of the house will not open. It’s too late when our time runs out. Some will insist they have eaten and drank with the Lord. Others will insist they’ve listened to the Lord’s teaching. Often in Jesus ministry he ate at the tables of Pharisees who used the opportunity to confront rather than to listen, to seek understanding, and deepen their care and love. Just being a member of Judaism, or Christianity, or Catholicism is not a guarantee. It’s how one lives that is the criterion for entering the Kingdom. Jesus tells us that people we don’t know from the four corners of the compass will be at the banquet table of the Lord. How would that work if we sit at the Lord’s table across from a hated enemy? Would that be a peaceful scene? Would that be a fulfilling joy?

The first reading prepares us for Jesus’ message. Isaiah gets specific about the four points of the compass. Tarshish is southern Spain, Put and Lud are in Africa, and Tubah is near the Black Sea. Mosoch is not identified in commentaries.

William Barclay in his series, The Daily Study Bible, includes a story in his commentary on this Gospel. “There was a woman who had been accustomed to every luxury and to all respect. She died and when she died, an angel was sent to conduct her to her house. They passed many a lovely mansion, as they came to it the woman thought that each one must be the one allotted to her. When they had passed through the main streets they came to the outskirts where the houses were much smaller; and on the very fringe they came to a house which was little more than a hut. ‘That is your house,’ said the conducting angel. ‘What,’ said the woman. ‘I cannot live in that.’ ‘I am sorry,’ said the angel, ‘but that is all we could build for you with the materials you sent up.’

Heaven’s standards, the standards Jesus models for us and teaches us, is not the standards of the world. Jesus tells us to “store up treasures in heaven where the moth and rust will not consume.”

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews gives a reason for the suffering experienced by each who lives. That author equates suffering with discipline. Suffering is a tool for our development of discipline. Just as great athletes practice and practice and study and study to create muscle memory and endurance and skill, so also being a follower of Christ is a process of growth and skill in loving and caring.

Dennis Keller Dennis@PreacherExchange.com

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Volume 2 is for you. Your thoughts, reflections, and insights on the next Sunday's readings can influence the preaching you hear. Send them to Chuck@PreacherExchange.com. Deadline is Tuesday Noon. Include your Name, and Email Address.
 

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