By Father Paul Nord, Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21; Responsorial: Psalm 117:1-2; Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Gospel: Luke 13:22-30
The first reading comes from the final verses of Isaiah’s prophecy. It offers a message of hope in a time of suffering for God’s people. The message is that God is all-powerful, and so the evil works of Israel’s enemies will be transformed by God to accomplish his holy purpose. The words of this chapter (Isaiah 66) are repeatedly marked with phrases like, “Thus says the Lord,” which emphasize the message. The final verses of Isaiah offer God’s promise to his people that “your descendants and your name (will) endure” (66:22).
This is what God promises to do: “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory” (66:18). The nations invaded Jerusalem and caused great destruction, but God will bring the nations “to Jerusalem, my holy mountain.” God will accomplish this in two ways, says Isaiah 66. First: “I will set a sign among them.” Second: “from them I will send fugitives to the nations” (66:19).
First, Isaiah foretold that the Lord God would give signs to help people recognize the end of the present age and the arrival of the kingdom of God. These signs will motivate people to “come and see my glory.” Isaiah prophesied that God would “gather nations of every language.” Today, we see this fulfilled in the Gospel of Christ, which is salvation for all peoples. The Gospel is universal, that is, “catholic.”
Second, Isaiah announces God’s message that “I will send fugitives to the nations” (66:19). Here, “fugitives” describe those who flee destruction — other translations say “survivors.” This likely describes Jews who are fleeing the attack on Jerusalem. They will flee to many foreign nations — where people do not know God’s glory. But these survivors of Jerusalem know God’s glory, and so “they shall proclaim my glory among the nations” (66:19).
Therefore, Isaiah prophesies that the nations (Gentiles) will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord God. When the Israelites came to the Jerusalem Temple, they brought offerings. For the Gentiles, Isaiah says “they shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the LORD” (66:20). These are Israelites who have been “lost” in some way — through war, migration or otherwise. They shall be brought home from foreign lands.
Today’s Responsorial is Psalm 117 — the shortest of all 150 psalms. It is a classic “praise psalm.” It begins directly: “Praise the LORD, all you nations.” This first line is synonymously parallel with the second line: “glorify him, all you peoples!” Both identify all nations/peoples as those who should “praise/glorify” (imperative verbs) the Lord.
The remainder of the psalm gives two complementary reasons for praising the Lord God. First: “For steadfast is his kindness toward us.” A more literal translation is: “mighty is his hesed for us.” The Hebrew “hesed” describes God’s love for his people, which is expressed by God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises to his people.”
The second phrase is: “the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.” The Hebrew “emet” indicates a kind of fidelity or trustworthiness expressed in action. The Lord is trustworthy in acting for our good. The Lord’s trustworthiness “endures forever.” God never stops acting for our good. Recognizing this causes us to praise the Lord God. Psalm 117 ends with a final “Alleluia!” (Literally: “praise the Lord!”).
The Hebrews reading is an exhortation to persevere in faith and to recognize that the Lord disciplines those whom he loves. Hebrews here cites Proverbs 3:11-12: “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord … for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son …” As the Son of God, Jesus has made us adopted sons of God. This reading emphasizes that since we are sons of God, we should expect to be disciplined by God, because a good father disciplines his sons.
Next, Hebrews cites Isaiah 35:3, “So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.” Then is another citation from Proverbs — 4:26 (Septuagint): “Make straight paths for your feet.” So this exhortation from Hebrews is strengthened by citing multiple Old Testament exhortations.
Today’s Gospel begins by mentioning that Jesus is traveling toward Jerusalem (Luke 13:22). In fact, most commentaries recognize Luke 9:51 to 19:27 (approximately) as a section in which “Jesus travels toward Jerusalem.” Of course, Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem (while he teaches and proclaims the Kingdom of God) prepares for his eventual death and resurrection that occur in Jerusalem.
Someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” This is asked respectfully, as Jesus is called “Lord.” Jesus begins his response by saying, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” This emphasizes the difficulty of entry through a “narrow” gate. Jesus further develops this imagery by suggesting that the gate or door could be locked by “the master of the house” making entry even more difficult. This naturally prompts pleas for help from those who are seeking to enter: “Lord, open the door for us.”
The “master of the house” seems to show little mercy in his response. First, he says he does not know them. When they protest that he does know them, he finally exclaims: “Depart from me, all you evildoers!” This paints a scene of desperation followed by rejection. Jesus warns that people who expect God’s salvation will instead be “cast out.” So we must avoid complacency in thinking that God’s mercy ensures that we will be saved.
Finally, Jesus says, “Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” This is a theme typical of Luke’s Gospel — that God’s plan of salvation often reverses human expectation. This is often called an “eschatological reversal.” That is: when God’s kingdom comes at the end of this age (“the eschaton”), God’s justice will reverse the injustices of this world. Jesus warns those of us who are privileged in this world that we should not expect special treatment in God’s plan of salvation.