Twenty-first Sunday    August 26, 2007

Isaiah 66:1821  Psalm: 117 Hebrews 12: 513 Luke 13:2230

Theme: Kingdom of God is for all.

1.  Thy Kingdom Come. How often have we said that prayer? If you are 25 years old, on an average you have said it about 27450 times so far...and about 54,000 times if you are 50. It is a prayer of the universality of God’s Kingdom. Everyone is invited to it. Our first reading from the last chapter of Isaiah reflects this universality - it is also the same idea that begins the Book of Isaiah. It becomes specific as Isaiah names the places from where the people will come to the Kingdom of God symbolised by Jerusalem. People will come from places with strange names to us. They will come from

• Tarshish which in Spain, signifies the West.
• Put and Lud in Africa - represents the South
• Tubal and Javan are in present day Turkey which is to the North.

• Isaiah might very well have said, people will come from East to West, North and South. Now this was a novel idea, because the People of Israel always considered themselves a “a Holy Nation, a people set apart” - enjoying Yahweh’s special favour. Nevertheless, this universality is announced by Isaiah in our reading.  

 In our own time, we make the same prayer in the preface of the Third Eucharistic prayer when we say “from age to age you gather a people so that from East to West a perfect offering may be made to the glory of your name.”

2. Now this would be the idyllic situation. But how close or far it is in reality we are the only ones who can tell. And do we really mean it after saying it so many times... or do we mean Thy Kingdom come for my family, friends, near and dear ones, my buddies at the workplace at the Gym, at the Golf course... 

  How many times, we want all people to go to Heaven, except for Mr. X who is rich and hence we think a little arrogant and snobbish, and except for Mrs. Y who is very pretty and likes everyone to know about it, and the family across the road that is always loud, rowdy and drunk. The universality applies to all. As we hear in Scripture: God lets the rain fall on the good and the bad alike. Everyone is invited to Jerusalem - which symbolizes God’s Kingdom - even people that are branded as evil: The Al-Quaida and serial killer and the pedophile all are invited.

2a  Now Jesus tells us in the Gospel, that although many are called few will get in because the Road is narrow.

• Jesus speaks about entering through the narrow gate, because although heaven is everybody, not all will accept this invitation
• Jesus speaks of an owner: ie. God who once the gates are closed, none of the “get free coupons” will work. We cannot claim “Lord open to us, because we were your chosen few.”

• Many will not opt not to choose the straight and narrow, but we cannot be the ones to decide who are taking this road or not.

Jesus warned the people of his time that God DID chose the people of Israel. God does not go back on promises made and these would still be God’s chosen people. But they had to cooperate with the Grace of God. If they did not, they would see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom, but their own entrance would be barred. In that sense, the knowledge that they were the chosen people would be an even more bitter pill to swallow.

3.  The same applies to us in our own time. We might consider ourselves the “one true religion” and we might even say so to the annoyance of others. But that does not give us an inside chance of getting into heaven. We cannot afford to cut corners.

 The Salvation of God is open to everyone, even those we consider the undesirables. It seems to gall us a lot that we have tried so hard.

• We come for Mass on Sundays,
• we go to confession regularly,
• we are there helping at every Parish Bazaar,
• we put in our weekly collection envelopes.

• And now suddenly the flood gates are open and everyone is invited to come into the Kingdom. In fact as if rubbing salt into the wounds, Jesus says, You will try to enter and you will see Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets of the Kingdom and you yourself thrown out. “Sorry, but you cannot enter.”

4. But we are curious, “who will be saved?” That is one question, I cannot answer. It is mysterious. It is in the hands of God. But it is a God of mercy and compassion and that should give us great hope.  Luke gives us a picture of Salvation being open to all. It is universal and God wants all to enjoy eternal life with God. Historic Israel will still be God’s chosen people. And although God does not need our cooperation to save us, God will not save us without our cooperation,  without our saying YES to God’s invitation.