The Gospel for this Sunday, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C comes from the Gospel of St Luke, Chapter 13, and has Jesus advising those listening to Him to struggle to enter by the narrow door into the kingdom of heaven.

This reflection has been written homily-style.

Luke 13:22-30
Lord, will only a few be saved?
That’s a good question, isn’t it?
And one we all want, and need, an answer to.
Even Jesus thought it was a good question,
because He answered it with a message that we struggle to decode,
so we may as well call it a parable.
In essence the answer Jesus gave was,
‘It’s up to you, how much do you want to enter the kingdom of heaven?’
Perhaps this seems strange to us,
because we are so accustomed to thinking,
‘Doesn’t everyone get to heaven?’
Let’s look at the criteria for getting in,
and the examples Jesus gave of those who were already in.

The first criteria is that it will take some considerable effort on our part.
The second criteria is that it will be through a narrow door, which indicates that it has to be traversed on foot since it isn’t wide enough for a horse or a car, and it will fit only one person at a time.
The third criteria is that we have to be recognisably kin to the master of the house, God the Father.
We need to look, dress, sound, and act, like members of the kingdom of heaven.
I’m sure you have had the experience of saying about someone, ‘they’ve got a strange accent,
there’s something European in it,
and yet there’s something North American in it as well.
I wonder where on earth they come from?’
We can’t have an accent tinged by the world; or be ‘half of the kingdom’ and ‘half of the world’.
Getting rid of the vestiges of the world from our lives is going to take effort, isn’t it?

Jesus gives us a few more tips.
The first tip is that we don’t know when God the Father is going to decide to bolt the door,
so we shouldn’t delay any of our efforts.
The second tip is that staying at the acquaintance level of relationship with Jesus is not enough.
It is very easy to eat and drink a meal with someone,
and yet not become committed to them.
It is very easy to listen to good teaching,
and yet not commit to putting it in to practice.
Where can we easily eat and drink with Jesus,
and listen to His teaching?
We are doing that right now, here at Mass.
But are we taking these opportunities of being with Jesus,
and letting these encounters with Jesus change us?

So, who has already arrived?
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets.
Did any of these people have easy lives? No, far from it.
Did God put them all through a testing process before adjudging them His friends? Yes, He did.
Some had heart-wrenching decisions, some had long years waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled, many were scorned and laughed at, many were persecuted, many had great sorrows.
All of them prayed, remained faithful through trials, and were obedient to all God’s requests.
None of them were perfect, far from it;
but whenever they fell, they got up and began again.

There it is, what Jesus Himself says is necessary to be saved.
How much do you want to enter the kingdom of heaven?
Are you ready and willing to begin the struggle, with the help of the Holy Spirit?
May God in His mercy help us all.

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The Gospel for this Sunday, the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, is taken from the end of Chapter 8 of St Mark. Between last Sunday and this Sunday (Mark 8:1-26) there has been a second multiplication of loaves, a demand for a sign, a warning against the leaven of the Pharisees and the healing of a blind man at Bethsaida. In this part of Mark:8, while they are on their way to the villages around Caesarea Philippi, Jesus interrogates His disciples.

But before we get to that, if the ministry itinerary of Jesus seems strange, well it kind of is. Why would Jesus push on to Sidon after going to Tyre, and why is He off to Caesarea Phillipi?

The answer is in the map of Israel at the time of Joshua, and where the territory of the various tribes were apportioned within Israel.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e6/a6/de/e6a6dec8f6ced5c5fcc09f40fe6df877.jpg

Tyre and Sidon are where the tribe of Asher settled, and the area around Caesarea Phillipi is where the tribe of Dan settled. In the time of Jesus these places were foreign territory, but if you were looking for descendants of the lost tribes of Israel, you would look in these places. This speaks of an incredible commitment of Jesus to seek out the lost, and of God giving a message through these missionary journeys that God has not forgotten His covenant with the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even if they have forgotten Him.

Jesus opens up this deliberate interrogation by asking ‘Who do men say I am?

The answers are interesting:
John the Baptist is one answer, recognizing that Jesus and John preached the same message ‘The kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the good news.’
Elijah is another answer, recognizing that with His miracles Jesus is on a par with the greatest prophet of Israel. Remember that at the Transfiguration, Moses represented the law, and Elijah represented the prophets.
Or one of the other prophets was the third answer the disciples provided, recognizing that Jesus carries a powerful message from God, and is a catalyst for the destiny of Israel, and this will bring Him into conflict with those who do not fear God and don’t walk in God’s ways.

Then Jesus puts them all on the spot and asks;
‘Who do you say I am?’
Peter responds, ‘You are the anointed one’.

When Israelites were hoping and longing for the anointed one of God, the Messiah, what did they expect the Messiah to be and to do?
-That the Messiah would usher in a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31
-That the Messiah would be a prophet like Moses. Deuteronomy 18:15-19
-That the Messiah would be the Son of Man. Daniel 7:13-14
-That the Messiah would be greater than David. Psalm 110:1-4
-That the Messiah would be a descendant of David. 2 Samuel 7:12-16
-That the Messiah would be the coming one to whom the scepter belongs. Genesis 49:10
-That the Messiah would be the descendant of Abraham through whom all nations would be blessed. Genesis 12:3

When David was King, an extraordinary king who took God as His commander, Israel was united, and Israel had rest from the enemies that normally besieged or enslaved them. David carried that triple calling of priest (worshipper of God), prophet and king; and was seen as a type of the Messiah to come.

Peter and the others were likely to be hopeful of being close retainers of king Jesus in a new earthly Davidic kingdom following a swift and painless overthrow of the Roman occupation.

But Jesus starts teaching them about the Messianic prophecies they’ve never ever considered before. All of that suffering servant stuff in Isaiah, and some of that gruesome stuff in Psalm 22 and other places.

Whoever we think Jesus to be
Jesus Himself insists that God’s plan for the Messiah is rejection, suffering, death and resurrection
and that to belong to Him
and indeed even necessary for salvation,
we have to be willing to walk exactly the same path.

That’s exactly what the scriptures have foretold that the Messiah will be.

In effect Jesus is saying here we are at A, the destination is B.
You think getting from A to B will unlock lots of glory with little effort.
Whatever you think B is, the B is bigger than you can ever possibly imagine.
God’s plan isn’t earthly and temporal, it is divine and eternal.
You are thinking far too small if you are thinking about a terrestrially based kingdom.
You are thinking far too small if you are only considering the salvation needs of this generation.

Getting to the fulness of the kingdom of God is going to take total commitment from Me, the pathway is not straight forward, and it is going to require significant suffering and rejection, and yes even an ignominious death, to get there.

The requirements for you to enter into the fulness of the kingdom of God are no different.

If you are going to come with Me from here on in,
this is what it is going to cost you.
No compromise is possible.

Either you are 100% with Me, and do it 100% God’s way,
no matter how heavy the ultimate personal cost turns out to be,
or you walk away now.

I will follow God’s path for Me even if none of you stay as My disciples.

It is decision time.

To stay with Me you have to accept this path of the Cross,
you have to live it wholeheartedly.

Are you coming with Me all the way?
Or do our ways part now?
​
On your answer hangs the salvation of countless others.

The Gospel for this Sunday, the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B, comes from a series of sections of Chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel, which began four weeks ago, and concludes this week. Between last week and this week one verse was skipped, v59, acting as a reminder that this whole discussion took place at Capernaum, home base for the missionary work of Jesus. It also bookends an earlier verse forming a syncope and in effect double underlining v58, viz

“This is the bread that came down/descended from heaven
Unlike your ancestors who ate (ephagon) and died (referring to the manna in the desert)
who eats (trogon) this bread will live (zesei) for ever.”

We often overlook the importance of location, but John has drawn attention to it for a reason.

Capernaum was where Jesus started His public ministry, and where He recruited many of His apostles, and where He returned to after each Galilean mission, and after each feast day pilgrimage to Jerusalem during His public ministry, until the final journey to Jerusalem culminating in His passion, death, resurrection and ascension.

Why?

Because this is the place where the greatest number of people have had the most long term relationship with Jesus (outside of Nazareth); where the most people have heard His teachings and have seen His miracles. Therefore up till this point it has been the epicientre for disciples of Jesus and for wannabe disciples of Jesus.

At this point anyone remotely anti-Jesus has already left the discussion.

And those who remain, who have considered themselves His followers, are now in a bit of an uproar over Jesus insisting that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood.

The stakes as Jesus has laid out are extremely high, participation in the divine life,
eternal life and
bodily resurrection on the last day.
The conditions are clear: eat His flesh and drink His blood.

It is decision time.

Is this intolerable, unacceptable language?
(Has Jesus jumped the shark?)

Is this incomprehensible, but the speaker has proved His trustworthiness to us? (I don’t understand, but I believe and trust in Jesus, and I’m willing to trust Him on this crazy stuff too.)

Some left Him for good.
A much smaller number stayed with Him.

Jesus was prepared to keep on going with His mission from God even if no one stayed with Him as a disciple.

What was the difference between those who left and those who stayed?
The quality and depth of his or her personal relationship and commitment to Jesus.

The apostles, and those who similarly strong relationship with Jesus stayed.

One, Judas, stayed to see how this would pan out, gambling on the chance of a big reward.

The rest left.

This a shakeout of a similar magnitude to Gideon and the shakeout of the army mustered to fight Midian and Amalek. Judges Chapter 7. From 32000 men, 22000 left; of the 10,000 left, only 300 were chosen (and in a weird way; lapping from the water’s edge). In that account, the reduction was so that the victory would be seen to be God’s and not resultant from the might of men.

With those who are left Jesus can build something long-lasting, eternally worthwhile, despite the presence of a few treacherous and curious ones who will eventually get shaken out.

May this underline for you that Jesus is not seeking celebrity -ever – at all.

What Jesus wants above all is true commitment and deep relationship.

Have you decided what your response will be?

Do you remember how high the stakes are?
This is the time to choose all or nothing.

May the heavenly Father grant you the gift of being able to say with Simon Peter
“To whom shall we go?
You Lord have the words of eternal life.
We believe that You are the Holy One of God.”

…and then to act on it by committing yourself to full membership of a Christian community where the Eucharist is celebrated with a validly ordained priest (Roman Catholic, Eastern Rite Catholic or Orthodox) – whatever that takes. That’s full sacramental life, full community life, and full acceptance of the apostolic teaching preserved in those communities, and to a committed prayer life (personal and communal). Acts 2:42 (These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers)

Wherever you see that your commitment is currently nil or partial in any of these areas, beg God for the grace to make full commitment in those areas.

The stakes are of eternal significance.
Do not delay your active response to Jesus.
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Amen.