SOMETIMES, IT DOESN’T
MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE
WHAT I THINK!
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”
That’s the thought that hit me as I read today’s readings – and then came a secondary thought: it’s rather pessimistic to say that. Sorry.
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings are scary readings. At least – as I read them – I felt a scare in them. Would my scary feelings make a difference to anyone else? What was your take – when you heard them – or are you somewhere else on a hot and humid Sunday moving towards the end of August – back to school – end of vacations – etc.? Did the question of End of the World – or End Times hit you as you heard these readings for today?
The first reading from Isaiah 66 – has a vision we often hear about in the scriptures. It’s the vision of End Times: what it’s going to be like when it’s all over – and God comes to Jerusalem – to his holy mountain – to gather with all his people from all times.
The question that hit me is from the old spiritual hymn, “When the saints come marching in … will I be in their number?”
Isaiah pictures the locals there – as well as people coming in carts and chariots, on horses and mules and camels – from all over the known world at the time. Some commentators conject that Tarshish might be in Spain – because they think the word has to do with mining – and there is some archeological evidence of that name with mining in Spain from that time. How about the names of these other places in today’s first reading? Imagine saying when asked, “Where are you from?”, “I’m from Put, Lud, Mosoch, Tubal or Javan?” How about the comment that people will be invited to God’s holy mountain – even though they never heard of God’s fame – or seen his glory? What are God’s criteria for making it? Or are there criteria for being saved?
Question: will I be in their number? Will I make it?
Other texts have other visions of other places for End Times – but most visions have a gathering – in some place.
Question: will I be in their number?
That’s scary.
And what hits me is this: it’s not my decision. It’s God’s decision.
The title of my homily is, “Sometimes It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”
The second reading from Hebrews says that God disciplines us – as a parent disciplines a child.
Sometimes I wonder if God does that – or does life do that to us? We age. We droop and get weak knees as the writer of Hebrews puts it.
That theme of God being active in what happens in our life is certainly in scriptures – because people certainly picture God helping some people more than he seems to help other people – and that God seems to send more suffering to some people than he does to others. I have trouble with that way of thinking. I’m off on fairness.
However, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”
And other people say, “Who said life is fair?”
How does God think? How does God work? How does God do? What is God like?
The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think.”
But it’s today’s gospel that really scares me.
After I die, I don’t want to hear the words Jesus uses in today’s gospel, “I do not know where you are from.”
And hearing that we might say what those in today's gospel say, “We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.”
And the Lord will say to us, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”
I hope I won’t hear that.
I do good stuff – and I do evil stuff. I help and I hurt. I compliment others and I gossip about others. What about all I don’t do – my sins of omission. Uh oh!
The title of my homily is, “Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think.”
LIFE EXPERIENCES
How does life work?
Not everyone makes the team – or gets a part in the play.
Not everyone gets into the college of their choice.
Not everyone gets the job – and some people lose their job.
Not everyone gets their electricity back after a storm as fast as we do here on Duke of Gloucester Street compared to other areas of the county.
Not everyone has the math gene – or the drawing gene – or the ability to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" – or the ability to play the piano or a guitar.
Not everyone makes the threescore number of years of life – and ten more if we’re lucky – that’s 70 – as Psalm 90:10 puts it.
Sometimes it rains on our parade or our picnic or our wedding day.
Sometimes it doesn’t make any difference what I think – or what I say – or what my opinion is.
Sometimes life’s a bummer. Sometimes it’s a blast.
Sometimes our kids mess up – their marriages go sour – or they drink away their lives.
And sometimes everything is wonderful – life is a bowl of delicious grapes and there are no pits.
WHO WILL BE SAVED?
Today’s gospel has the very scary dialogue. “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?’”
I don’t know your take on that – but that’s also a scary question.
Here in Luke we hear Jesus say, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate!”
Then he talks about locked doors – and people knocking on the door yelling, “Lord, open the door for us.”
And the Lord replies, “I don’t know where you are from.”
Then Luke – who is off on forgiveness and mercy – and kindness – has Jesus saying, “Depart from me, all you evildoers!”
Then comes the wailing and grinding of teeth message – a message that I never liked.
“Sometimes, It Doesn’t Make Any Difference What I Think!”
And Luke ends today’s gospel text saying that the evildoers will see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God – along with people from the east and the west, the north and the south – and they are all at this big banquet – this big table in the kingdom of God.
I want to be in their number!
I want to be seated at that table.
I want to make it.
IS THERE A KEY?
So I guess a key question is: Is there a key?
Banging on the door might not work – but Jesus says to do that in another gospel text. [Cf. Luke 11:5-11; Matthew 7:7]
But is there a key to that door – God’s door?
Going through today’s readings there are two keys: don’t be an evil doer and enter by the narrow gate.
Going through other scripture readings we have the great text in Matthew – do good to everyone. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the imprisoned, etc. etc. etc. and if we do that we’ll hear Jesus say, “Welcome to the banquet!” [Cf. Matthew 25: 31-46] We have all the great texts that tell us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. [Cf. Luke 10: 25-37; Matthew 22:34-40]
St. Alphonsus, who founded our order, the Redemptorists, had periods in his life of big time scrupulosity and worry, said the key is prayer.
He said, “Pray and you’ll be saved; don’t pray and you’ll be lost.”
The more I have thought about that basic message the more it makes sense to me.
It leaves everything up to God – but it also gives me something to do along with loving God and neighbor. I can pray. I can tell God, I can yell to God, “Help!”
We can also try to sneak in the backdoor – with some help from Mary – Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Isn’t that why so many churches are named after Mary, the Mother of Jesus. We all want every advantage we can get.
CONCLUSION: MONKEY IN THE WELL
I don’t know how to end this – because we’re dealing here with heavy duty stuff. I’m also not sure if you wanted to put any of this on your plate this morning to chew upon and digest – and some of this stuff has more gristle in it than easy to chew meat.
So let me close with the story of the monkey in the well – a story that has always helped me on this question of salvation.
A tiny monkey fell down a dry well and started screaming for his or her mother. The mother hears the screaming and comes to the edge of the well and looks down and sees her kid.
She reaches down and can’t reach her kid – so she starts grunting – with signals for the little one to reach up and grab her arm.
The little one does and is saved.
So we need God to save us – but we have to do our part. We have to reach up our tiny hand and grasp the powerful hands of Our God.
It’s like the saying, “Pray for potatoes – but pick up a shovel.”
Do something!
So it does make a difference – however big, however small, on how I think and especially how I act with all this. Amen.
