Word Wide Open: The 21st Sunday In Ordinary Time (C)

First Reading (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.

Asking the big questions: The prophecy of Isaiah tells us that God will bring together people from all the nations to offer worship to Him.  How can courtesy, warmth, cheerfulness, and listening to others help others to know God?  What are some other ways in which we can make our Christian lives attractive to others?

Responsorial Pslam (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. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Second Reading (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.

Asking the big questions: Our Father in heaven always wants what is best for us.  In what way can discipline be a form of love?  Can you think of a trial that you experienced that eventually made you more virtuous?  What does it mean to "disdain" the Lord's discipline?  

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.”

Asking the big questions: Jesus is asked a pointed question about the number of those who will be saved.  Why do you think Jesus responds the way he does with talk of striving to enter heaven?  Can you think of someone who inspires you by taking the narrow way?  How could it be that someone might be a Catholic Christian and even teach the faith and still be distant from knowing the Lord?