The Word On Sunday: Enter through the Narrow Gate

Readings for: August 25, 2013

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Il-21 Ħadd matul is-Sena - SAena 'Ċ'

Messalin 'C' pp 372

Reading 1 - Isaiah 66:18-21

Thus says the LORD: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; from them I will send fugitives to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels. Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD. This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Ewwel Qari - Isaija 66, 18-21

Dan igħid il-Mulej: Għad niġi niġbor il-ġnus kollha, u l-popli ta’ kull ilsien; dawn jiġu u jaraw is-sebħ tiegħi. Jiena ngħolli għalihom sinjal, u nibgħat lil xi wħud mill-fdal ta’ Israel ġħand il-ġnus, f’Tarsis, Put, Lud u Mesek, Ros, Tubal u Ġawan, u lejn ix-xtut imbiegħda li qatt ma semgħu bija, u qatt ma raw is-sebħ tiegħi,u huma jxandru s-sebħ tiegħi qalb il-ġnus. U jġibu lil ħutkom kollha minn kull ġens, bħala offerta lill-Mulej; iġubhom fuq żwiemel u karrijiet, fuq suġġetti u bgħula u iġmla, għal fuq il-muntanja qaddisa tiegħi, ’Ġerusalem, jgħid il-Mulej: bħalma wlied Israel iġibu l-offerti tal-qmuħ tagħhom f’ġarar indaf fit-Tempju tal-Mulej. U lil xi wħud minnhom neħodhom b’qassisin u leviti, igħid il-Mulej. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 117:1, 2

R. (Mk 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples R/

For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R/

Salm Responsorjali - Salm 116

R/ Morru fid-dinja kollha, xandru l-Evanġelju

Faħħru l-Mulej, intom ġnus kollha,

sebbħuh, intom popli kollha. R/

Għax kbira hi it-tjieba tiegħu magħna,

il-fedelta’ tal-Mulej tibqa' għal dejjem R/

Reading 2 - Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters, You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.” Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons. For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline? At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it. So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed. This is the Word of The Lord.

It-Tieni Qari - mill-Ittra lil-Lhud 12, 5-7.11-13

Ħuti, insejtuha għalkollox il-kelma ta’ twissija li qalilkom ta' wlied li intom:“Ibni, la twarrabx it-twiddib tal-Mulej, u la taqtax qalbek meta jċanfrek; għax il-Mulej iwiddeb ‘il min iħobb, jolqot lil kull min jilqa’ b’ibnu.” Hu għall-edukazzjoni tagħkom li intom qegħdin tbatu! Alla qiegħed jimxi magħkom ta’ wlied. Min hu dak l-iben li missieru ma jwiddbux? Tassew li għalissa kull twiddiba ma tferraħniex, Imma tnikkitna; iżda mbagħad, lil dawk li jkunu tħarrġu biha, hija troddilhom il-frott ta’ ħajja mimlija bis-sliem u l-ġustizzja. Mela erfgħu l-idejn merħija u l-irkobbtejn mitluqa tagħkom, biex min hu zopp, ma joħroġx mit-triq, imma jerġa’ jieħu saħħtu. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

Gospel - Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from. And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” This is the Word of The Lord.

L-Evanġelju - skont San Luqa 13, 22-30

F’dak iż-żmien, huwa u sejjer lejn Ġerusalemm, Ġesu’ għadda jgħallem f’xi bliet u rħula. U kien hemm wieħed qallu: “Mulej, jaqaw ftit huma dawk li jsalvaw?” U huwa weġibhom: “Tħabtu biex tidħlu mill-bieb id-dejjaq, għax kif ngħidilkom jien, ħafna għad ifittxu li jidħlu u ma jirnexxilhomx. Għax meta sid id-dar ikun qam jagħlaq il-bieb, intom tibqgħu barra, u tibdew tħabbtu l-bieb u tgħidu, "Mulej, iftħilna!" Iżda hu jweġibkom u jgħid, “Ma nafx minn intom." Imbagħad taqbdu tgħidulu, "Kilna u xrobna niegħek aħna, u int għallimt fil-pjazez tagħna." Hu jwieġeb u jgħidilkom, "Ma nafx mnejn intom; morru minn quddiemi, intom ilkoll li tagħmlu dak li mhux sewwa!’ Hemmhekk ikun hemm il-biki u t-tgħażżiż tas-snien, meta taraw lil Abraham u lil Iżakk u ‘l Ġakobb u l-profeti kollha fis-Saltna ta’ Alla, u intom imkeċċija ‘l barra. U jiġu nies mill-Lvant u mill-Punent, mit-Tramuntana u n-Nofsinhar, u joqogħdu għall-mejda fis-Saltna ta’ Alla. U araw, hawn min hu ta’ l-aħħar u għad ikun l-ewwel, u hawn min hu tal-ewwel u għad ikun l-aħħar. Il-Kelma tal-Mulej

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COMMENTARY

Father Cantalamessa on the Narrow Gate

Here is a translation of a commentary by the Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, on the readings from this Sunday's liturgy.

Enter Through the Narrow Gate
There is a question that has always nagged believers: Will there be many or few people saved? During certain periods this problem became so acute as to cause some people terrible anxiety.

This Sunday's Gospel informs us that Jesus himself was once asked this question. "Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, 'Lord, will only a few people be saved?'"

The question, as we see, focuses on the number -- How many will be saved? Will it be many or few? In answering the question, Jesus shifts the focus from "how many" to "how" to be saved, that is, by entering "through the narrow gate."

We see this same attitude in regard to Jesus' second coming. The disciples ask "when" the return of the Son of Man will happen and Jesus answers indicating "how" we should prepare ourselves for that return, and what to do during the time of waiting (cf. Matthew 24:3-4).

Jesus' way of responding to these questions is not strange or discourteous. He is just acting in the way of one who wants to teach his disciples how to move from a life of curiosity to one of true wisdom; from the allure of idle questions to the real problems we need to grapple with in life.

From this we already see the absurdity of those who, like the Jehovah Witnesses, believe they know the precise number of the saved: 144,000.

This number, which recurs in the Book of Revelation has a purely symbolic value (the square of 12 -- the number of the tribes of Israel -- multiplied by 1,000) and is explained by the expression that immediately follows: "A great multitude that no man could number" (Revelation 7:4, 9).

Above all, if 144,000 is really the number, then we can both close up shop. Above the gate to heaven there must be a sign like the ones parking lots put up: "Full."

If, therefore, Jesus is not so much interested in revealing to us the number of the saved as he is in telling us how to be saved, we can understand what he is trying to tell us here. In substance, there are two things: one negative and the other positive.

It is useless, or rather it is not enough, to belong to a certain ethnic group, race, tradition, or institution, not even the chosen people from whom the Savior himself comes. What puts us on the road to salvation is not a title of ownership ("We ate and drank in your presence..."), but a personal decision, followed by a consistent way of life. This is even more clear in Matthew's text which contrasts two ways and two gates, one narrow and the other wide (cf. Matthew 7:13-14).

Why are these ways respectively called "narrow" and "wide"? Is it perhaps that the way of evil is always easy and pleasant to follow and the way of goodness always hard and tiresome?

Here we must be careful not to cede to the usual temptation of believing that here below everything goes magnificently well for the wicked and everything goes terribly for the good.

The way of the wicked is wide, but only at the beginning. As one goes down this way it gradually becomes narrow and bitter. In any case, it becomes very narrow at the end because it finishes in a blind alley.

The joy that is experienced in it has the characteristic of diminishing more and more as one tastes it, and it finally causes nausea and sadness. We see this in certain forms of intoxication experienced in drugs, alcohol and sex. A larger dose or stronger stimulation is needed each time to produce pleasure of the same intensity.

Finally the organism no longer responds and it begins to break down, even physically.

The way of the just is instead narrow at the beginning, when one starts off on it, but it then becomes a spacious boulevard because hope, joy and peace of heart are found in it.