Are You Saved?

Are You Saved? 
August 24, 2019     21st Sunday of Ordinary - C
by Dcn. Bob Bonomi   

Are You Saved?

How many times have we been asked this question by our non-Catholic Christian friends?  If we are not strong in our faith, it is a question that can either make us scratch our heads in confusion, or leave us feeling uncomfortable because we are not convinced we know the answer.  The short answer, by the way, is “Yes”, but our readings today might help us understand why that answer may not be quite as simple as our Protestant friends would like us to believe.

In the scripture passages leading up to today, Jesus has been preaching to the people about the Kingdom of God, and he has been cautioning them of their need for repentance, and what may befall them if they don’t.  And, in today’s Gospel when the person in the crowd asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”, he probably was really thinking, “Lord, will * I * be saved?”

Jesus responds in normal Jesus fashion with a parable. And his answer about the doors locked by the master of the house at first might seem a little strange.  “I do not know where you are from.”  Not: “I do not know you” but “I do not know where you are from.”

We often use that phrase as a question, especially when we met someone for the first time. “Hi, I’m Bob – where’re you from?”  And it doesn’t mean that we’re necessarily asking about what part of the country they’re from – we might use it to determine what company they’re with, or even what family they belong to. It’s a question that we use to help us to get to know someone, and unfortunately we often use that question to judge people.

“Where are you from?”

We hear this same phrase used elsewhere in scripture, usually referring to Jesus himself.  It’s a statement made by the Pharisees, scribes and other leaders of Jesus’s time and most often seen in John’s Gospel – for example:

•    The first time that Jesus preaches in the Temple: "However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from." to which Jesus replies, "You both know Me and know where I am from; … I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.” (John 7:27-28)

•    And again later, after the incident with the woman caught in adultery; the Pharisees dismiss him as only testifying about himself.  Jesus responds:  "Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going.” (John 8:14)

•    Finally, in the story of the man born blind, the Pharisees ridicule the formerly blind man with: "We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man (Jesus), we do not know where He is from." (John 9:29) and he replies with “If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.” (John 9:33)

So, when Jesus uses this phrase, he really wants to know, “Are you from God?”

His answer offers both hope and a warning.  He begins his answer with, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

We want to believe that everyone goes to heaven, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: … To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." (1033)

When Jesus says that the master doesn’t know where we are from, he’s not talking about any particular region of ancient Judea. He is pointing out that our actions do not always reflect what we profess.  It’s a warning that we should not be complacent about our faith, or worse, presumptuous about our salvation.

But God NEVER leaves us without hope. 

Both our first and second readings talk to us about what God will do for us in order that we not only are “known” by God but also to help us understand “where” we come from, and He does it through “discipline”.  Too often we equate the word “discipline” only with “punishment”, and it’s really much more than that.  In fact, the Greek word used here that has been translated as “discipline” and which is used most often in the Bible is Paideia (pai·dei·uh), which means to instruct, especially the instruction of children.  In the culture of ancient Greece and later of the Greco-Roman world at large, it referred to the rearing and education of the ideal member of the city-state or society. While it often has consequences associated with it that seem punishment-like in their nature, the primary purpose is not judgement, but training. 

And why does God train us?  Three reasons.

1.    As preparation for the battles we face in life as seen in Deuteronomy:  “He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your ancestors, so you might know that it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. ... So you must know in your heart that, even as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD, your God, disciplines you.” (Deut 8:3-5)

2.    To remind us that we are part of an eternal kingdom as seen in St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “…but since we are judged by [the] Lord, we are being disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Cor 11: 32)

3.    And as a sign of love, as seen in the Book of Proverbs to which today’s letter to the Hebrews refers:  “The discipline of the LORD, my child, do not spurn; do not disdain his reproof; For whom the LORD loves he reproves: as a father, the child he favors.” (Prov 3:11-12)

God loves us.  He wants us to be saved. He wants to spend eternity with us.  He knows that in the world in which we live, especially today, it will require strength of will to “…enter through the narrow gate.”  And so, like athletes who “punish” themselves in their training to be the best they can be, God “trains” us, through the “discipline” or hardships that we experience in our lives. 

And so, we get back to the question, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”  The answer?
NO. There will be many, many who will be saved.  But Jesus wants us to understand that those who are saved may not be those who we expect.  God said through Isaiah: ”I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory.” Jesus said that “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.”

Fr. Tymo mentioned in his homily on Friday that there’s – “room for everyone at God’s table.”  And the Beatitudes tell us those who will be seated in the places of honor: the poor, the meek, the mourning, the merciful, justice-seekers, the clean of heart, the peace-makers – those who suffer persecution for the kingdom of God. And they will come from all nations, all states of life – and even from those who may not be of our faith.  And God will seat them beside us – or rather, He will seat us beside them for “some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” 

So, are we Saved? YES!  But are we living our lives so that God can tell that we are from Him? Have we made room in our hearts for all those who God has invited to His table?  Will we be comfortable with whoever is seated beside us?

Are we ready to accept His salvation?