HOW EASY IS TO BE SAVED?

XXI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Lk 13:22-30; Is 66:18-21

In need of salvation

In spite of many different beliefs, traditions and religions, at all times and in all generations, people have had a feeling of inadequacy, shortcoming and failure, which led them to search for salvation. We are in need of wholeness and in need of life, which can only be brought to us by salvation. And the question comes: Is it easy to be saved? Will salvation be given to all?

That was the question which someone asked to Jesus: "Sir, will there be only a few saved?" (Lk 13:23). Jesus makes it clear that salvation is not guaranteed and that the way to salvation is not an easy one. We must struggle to enter through the "narrow door", and many will not succeed.

When we speak of salvation, we speak of something that is bestowed on us by God's grace and so of something that we cannot obtain on our own. Salvation is a gift coming from God's mercy and love. However, this gift demands a concerted effort on our side. It is not enough just to open our arms and be ready to receive it. The gift of salvation is like the talents entrusted to the servants; and like good servants of the Lord, we must work hard to make good use of those talents (Mt 25:14-30).

Never take God for granted

One thing is sure, we can never take God for granted. Indeed, he is a merciful and loving father, but he is as well the judge who decides in all fairness and gives each one according to what he deserves. If we take God for a ride, then we will knock a the gate of heaven, only to be told that we do not belong there; and we will be forced to go away.

Jesus warned the Jews that, in spite of belonging to the chosen people, they might be left outside, while others coming "from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God." (Lk 13:29).

Salvation is offered to all

Salvation is a serious matter that must be taken seriously. On his side, God is ready to offer salvation to all. People will come from everywhere. Salvation is not a privilege of just a few, much less a privilege of a certain group based on race or tribe. Jesus took this universalist approach from Isaiah, who at the end of his book wrote: "I am coming to gather the nations of every language. They shall come to witness my glory." "And of some of them I will make priests and Levites, says the Lord." (Is 66:18,21).

Feeling threatened by the surrounding cultures and being dominated by foreign powers, the Jews closed in themselves, forgetting that they had been chosen to be a beacon of light giving guidance to all in their search for God. They forgot the universalism of Isaiah, to close themselves in their narrow minded nationalism.

God offers salvation to all and all who are ready to accept his gift and work together with him, will manage to enter through the narrow door and see the glory of God's kingdom.

JESUS’ RADICAL DEMAND THAT HE BECOMES THE CENTRE OF OUR LIVES

XX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Lk 12:49-53

Do not expect an easy life

Although he came to bring salvation to the world, Jesus did not come to bring an easy life, and his followers are faced with hard choices. Jesus told his disciples that they must “enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Mt 7:13-14).

Jeremiah’s life a prophecy of Jesus Christ

This Sunday's readings bring this out very clearly. Prophet Jeremiah, whose life is like a prophecy of Jesus, suffered persecution for his boldness, his courage and his faithfulness in carrying out the mission received from God. He was accused of treason, just because, guided by the Spirit, he was able to read the political situation realistically and advised to accept the less evil of surrender instead of total destruction.

Like Jeremiah, Jesus was rejected, accused and found guilty of blasphemy and treason. He accepted his suffering and death and offered them as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. He did not go blindly into death. He knew that his way of life and the faithfulness to his mission would lead him to shameful death. He said: "There is a baptism I must still receive", meaning the baptism of his passion and death.

Jesus’ message is like a sword

Although he came as a Prince of peace, his message is like a sword (Mt 10:34) that separates and divides people, between those who accept Him and live by his values and those who reject Him and are ready to destroy Him. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are forced to make hard choices in our lives. And those choices may put us in conflict with society in general, with our neighbours and even with our own close relatives.

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10:37) and "whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple" (Lk 14:26). Jesus demands to be the number one in our lives, and nothing at all can supersede him. If we accept Jesus Christ, we have to accept this radical demand that he becomes the centre of our lives, and by accepting it, we will be in conflict with everything that resents or rejects his primacy.

Jesus came to bring fire here on earth, a purifying fire that destroys and consumes everything that is unworthy of God's glory.

OUR ROLE MODELS OF FAITH

XIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Hb 11:1-2,8-12

In chapter 11, the letter to the Hebrews presents some role models of faith. The first one is Abraham, whom Paul calls "our ancestor" in faith (Ro 4:12).

In the history of religious experience, Abraham is considered as the first to go through a radically new experience: his relationship with God is based on faith. From this experience of faith, the letter to the Hebrews stresses a few important aspects:

• Looking at Abraham, we can see that faith implies obedience. Once he heard God's call, he did not waste time  in answering that call and doing what he was told to do.
• Abraham's experience of faith is presented as a journey: he "set out on a journey" (Hb 11:8). The physical journey of Abraham, who lived a semi-nomadic life, is a symbol of his journey of faith. In fact, the image of "journey" plays a very important role in the whole history of salvation. We can remember the journey of the people of Israel from slavery to freedom, and the journey of Jesus towards Jerusalem, that is towards his death and resurrection.
• In this journey, we move forward "without knowing", by trust, sure that the one who called us and guides us will take us to a place of rest. In a way, this "without knowing" is part of the journey of our lives here on earth. We just move forward without knowing what lies ahead. In faith, we do not just move along, as if carried by a powerful but unknown current; instead, we move with hope certain that someone who loves us is guiding us.
• Living by faith means that we accept to be foreigners and to live in tents here on earth. We have no permanent dwelling here on earth; we are just passing by. This attitude leads us to relativize everything here on earth.
• Faith goes together with hope. Faith gives us motivation to move forward, because we do not rely on the present, but always look forward, sure that happiness is waiting for us. We do not concentrate in the past, always desiring to go back to a golden age that disappeared long ago. For us, the golden age is in the future. And this hope gives us the strength and the courage to go on struggling and to move ahead.
• They saw what they had been promised "in the far distance and welcomed them" (Hb 11:13).
• Abraham's faith was put to the test. This being put to the test is part of the experience of faith. In the great test of his life lived in faith, Abraham was found faithful.
• Faith is a total surrender to God, in which we throw ourselves in God's arms, sure that he is the God of life, and has "the power even to raise the dead" (Heb 11:19).

ACCEPT OURSELVES AS WE ARE

XVIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Ecc 1:2, 2:21-23

All is vanity

The book of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) is a book very different from all other books of the Bible. Its words sound like the words of a philosopher looking at the reality of life with very human eyes. Seeing man and all that surrounds him, he does not see anything to be proud of, and he claims: "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." (Qoheleth 1:2)

According to Qoheleth (the Teacher), we must not live in a dream world and we cannot allow ourselves to be carried away by it. We must accept ourselves as we are, full of limitations and mortal.

Why to pretend to be gods, if we are simple creatures sharing the same fate of all other creatures? Our feet must be well set on the ground. This is the reality: When death takes us away, we will carry nothing with us. Our dreams, our efforts and our own achievements, whatever they may be, like dry leaves will be carried away by the wind. We will be forgotten. We will be no more. "All is vanity"

Remember! You are just a human being!

In the Imperial Rome, the great victories were celebrated with the general and his troops entering the city in triumph. In the general's chariot, holding the crown of victory over his head, stood a slave repeating to him time and again: Remember! You are just a man! We are not gods! We may look up to heaven and dream of establishing there our home, but our feet are on the ground, where we belong.

Jesus Christ is the way

Within our hearts, there is a very strong desire for eternal life and for a share in divinity. However, we can never reach there. We are just mortal human beings, who in spite of all their search cannot find the way to heaven. And we must become well aware of the vanity of our attempts. On our own, we cannot save ourselves. Only God can save us. Surely, he is the one who put in our hearts the deep desire for eternity; but the only usefulness of this desire is to make us ready to accept God's invitation and to open our hearts to him. Only he can give us the way; and the way is Jesus Christ, God's own beloved son.

HOW GREAT AN OUTCRY!

XVII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Gn 18:20-32

Sodom and Gomorrah

The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a story of depravation and punishment. Because of their "grievous sin", there was an "outcry" against them, which reached God.

Gn 19:1-11 presents the depravity of those two cities: they did not see with good eyes the presence among them of Lot, who was a foreigner; they did not respect the sacred laws of hospitality, and they were ready to use violence against Lot and his guests and to rape them. It was not only a question of homosexuality. Their hearts and minds had become so corrupt that they only care about their own self-satisfaction, and being ready to do anything to get it.

Today’s outcry

The outcry can still be heard today, not the one of Sodom and Gomorrah, which have disappeared long ago, but the outcry of the poor and the oppressed, and the outcry of all those who suffer, because of the corrupt society in which they live.

God hears the outcry, and he will not remain silent and patient for ever. One day, he will take action.

Our world is being corrupted by sin. The sin of war, fruit of hatred, envy, jealousy and the lust for power and wealth. The sin of greed that makes profit at all costs the supreme value that moves companies and nations. The sin of violence against the weak and the defenceless. The sin of child abuse which scars their bodies and destroys the innocence of their hearts and minds.

The sin of exploitation, which transforms people into tools at the service of others. The sin of individualism that  destroys the harmony and communion among people. The sin of self-indulgence that leads to care only about my own satisfaction and pleasure.

Abraham’s intercession

However, this Sunday's first reading only mentions the outcry caused by the corruption in Sodom and Gomorrah and then concentrates on Abraham's friendship with God and on his intercession for those people who had lost all self-respect. If we want to maintain or regain our self-respect, we should have a good look at Abraham. He was a not a perfect man, but he grew in goodness as he grew old. Being a foreigner himself, he gave a great welcomed to the three travellers who passed by his tent. His relationship with God grew in friendship and love to such an extent that he felt most confident to speak to God on behalf of people who did not belong to his tribe and his nation. 

We are in need of intercessors. And like Abraham, we should not be afraid of bothering God with our requests. Jesus said: "Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you." (Lk 11:9).

ONLY LOVE GIVES MEANING TO SUFFERING

XVI SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Col 1:24-28

There is no life without suffering

Suffering always causes fear in our hearts, and we do everything possible to avoid it. However, we cannot pass through life without suffering. It always comes our way in a great variety of forms.

In the traditional culture of many tribes, during the time of initiation into adulthood, suffering is purposely inflicted in order to lead the initiands to psychological and moral maturity. They are forced to realise that life is a dangerous adventure.

Suffering can be a result of our own limitations, shortcomings and inability to cope; it may come from the environment in which we live, or from the situations which we find ourselves in. And suffering can also be brought about by people who wilfully inflict it on others.

Whenever faced with suffering, we ask ourselves: Why? Why all this suffering? This question is so pertinent that the book of Job was written about it. And in anguish, Job asked: "Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?" (Job 3:11).

Indeed, we ask ourselves: Does suffering serve any purpose? Is there any good in it? And what is the meaning of it? 

Suffering, we cry out for liberation

In suffering, we feel oppressed and deprived of the joy and peace that should be ours, and we cry out for liberation. 

The Christian faith presents the cross of Jesus (his passion and death) as the answer to that cry. Through the road of suffering, he passed the gate of death and entered into the glory of resurrection. Jesus himself interpreted his suffering and death as being for the redemption of many (Mk 10:45). He suffered and died for others, making of his death the greatest proof of his love. Love gave meaning to his passion and death.

Suffering for you

In this Sunday second reading, uniting himself with Jesus, Paul presents the same attitude: "It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church." (Col 1:24)

Paul, like Christ, makes of his suffering a proof of love: it is "for you"; and by doing that, he unites himself to the passion of Christ, in such a way that he sees the passion of Christ going on in him and bringing redemption to the Church.

WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE SAVED?

XV SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Lk 10:25-37

The question about salvation

Throughout human history, there have been so many different answers to this important question. In a way, all religions are an attempt at finding an answer and at showing the way to salvation.

As Christians, we believe that the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, meaning that we accept to become his disciples and follow on his footsteps. We recognise and proclaim him as the "Saviour of the world" (Jn 4:42).

Law and faith - do they exclude each other?

All the Protestant Churches, steadfastly following Luther with more loyalty than the apostolic Tradition, stress the opposition between Faith and Law. Luther, with his experience of fear and anguish, was led to stress a religious experience based on faith, claiming to follow St. Paul, who teaches that one is made righteous only by faith, not by the works of the Law. Since Luther, a lot of teaching about salvation is based on a big misunderstanding of Paul's teaching about Faith and about the Law, leading to the exclusion of good deeds as essential for salvation, with people taking one-sided position with the total exclusion of any stress on other different aspects of the same reality.

Jesus’ answer to the question of salvation

In this Sunday's gospel, we hear Jesus being asked this same question: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Lk 10:25), which is the same as asking: What must I do to be saved?

And Jesus gave a very simple answer in another question: "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" It is surprising that, instead of answering, he forced the one who questioned him - an expert in the Law - to give the answer:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself." After hearing the answer, Jesus added: "Do this, and you will live." That is keep the commandments (the Law) and you will be saved. 

Jesus makes it very clear that to follow the Law - this law of love - is needed to have eternal life (salvation).

We may ask if Paul was not in contradiction of Jesus' teaching, when he spoke about the opposition between Law and Faith. However, we must realise that he was not speaking about the Law of love, since he used similar language to that of Jesus, when he wrote: 

"Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law"(Ro 13:8-10).

Faith implies the acceptance of salvation as a gift

When Paul speaks of the Law, he speaks about the need of circumcision and of the faithful keeping of all rituals, in order to get salvation. And he speaks of proud people with an attitude of self-righteousness, who think that they deserve salvation and may claim it from God. In contrast to that claim of righteousness of those who keep the commandments of the Law, Paul teaches the attitude of Faith of those who recognises their inability to save themselves and who are ready to accept God's gift of merciful and saving love.

Faith without love is useless

The same Paul, who proclaimed the importance of faith for justification and salvation, wrote to the Corinthians that faith without love is useless: "If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing." (1 Co 13:2).

In fact, faith is not an isolated virtue or attitude, which acts on itself independently of everything else. That's why James wrote: 

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (James 2:14-17).

True faith is filled with love, and this love of God filling our hearts stands out like a witness to God's presence and action, which strengthen our faith.