Breaking Open the Word

Isaiah 66:18-21
Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
Luke 13:22-30
 
Our reading from Isaiah is pretty straight forward and needs little in the way of interpretation. In it we hear a very dramatic prophecy toward the end of the book of Isaiah. These verses are calling for something unheard of; that the Gentiles will be summoned to Jerusalem to see the Glory of the Lord! But that is not all. All of the exiles, where ever they may have been, will be brought home as well and from among them the Lord will call some to be priests and some to be Levites.
 
God’s glory is for all, even the one who have never heard of the Lord or seen His glory. That is especially you and I today.
 
We continue with Hebrews where we left off last week. The opening lines are a reminder, or more precisely, a reprimand for not remembering what they had been taught. One of the things we all try to do is find away around the difficult, find away to avoid those things that are hard. Just like a parent who needs to discipline their child, the Lord disciplines us. We learn from the hard times, the difficult times, the tribulations we experience in life. When we take that discipline to heart and learn from it, we will be better be equipped as Christians in this world to help bring about the Kingdom of God here and now.
 
Luke is teaching his community of followers that following Jesus will not be easy. He is saying there is no short cut, there is no magic, there is not some box to check off that is going to guarantee them entry into God’s Kingdom.
 
Just because the people were eating and drinking and spending time with Jesus and the disciples did not automatically grant them a place at His side. The same with us today. Just because we go to church every week, just because we say a lot or rote prayers, just because we donate more than the tithe required, does not mean we get automatic entry into the Kingdom either.
 
So, what does it take for us to enter the Kingdom? All of those parables Jesus taught His disciples are the examples we need to follow ourselves. We need to feed the poor, find shelter for the homeless, take care of the widow, visit the sick and those in prison to name just a few. It also calls us to reach out to victims of abuse, to those who were wronged, to those who seek something better in their life. We have to be agents of change in this world, not just sitting by and letting someone else do it. We need to be more civil; we need to be more loving; we need to learn the discipline that Hebrews is reminding us of today. Are all of these things hard to do? Some yes, but for the most part these are things that should be a part of our everyday life as a Christian, especially as a Catholic.