Isaiah 66:18-21 Psalm 117:1, 2 Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 Luke 13:22-30
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen
Here is the message of the parable Jesus teaches in the gospel:
“We will all be standing outside the locked door knocking and saying, “Lord
open the door for us.” And he will say to you in reply “I do not know
you.”
Those are some harsh words. They cannot be meant for me. I am a
believer and a Christian. I come to his table - I ate and drank - and listen to
his teachings. Jesus is not talking to me in those words. He is probably not
talking to any you.
But, the truth of our everyday words and actions can put us
outside that locked door. The LORD knows your work and your thoughts. He will
say, ”I do not know you, depart from me you evil doers.”
As a deacon, I don't want anyone God has been given to my care to
be outside that lock door. My ministry is to help you find a friendship
with God. For that reason I share this story.
My youngest grandson learned a new word. “Hate.” He does not know
what it means. He says things like, I hate my dinosaur. I hate hot dogs. I hate
my brother.
His mother tells him, “We do not hate, it is not nice.” He laughs
and says it more. Finally, my daughter says, “Go talk to Poppy!”
So he crawls up in my lap, and curls in the crook of my arm. So
loving and so trusting. I tell him I love him. I tell him his mommy, brother,
nanny, and mammaw, and even his dog loves him. Does he like the love in my hugs
and kisses when he sits in my lap?
U-huh, I love you.
I tell him, hate is the opposite of love so why does he say he hates, “Do you
know what hate means?” He just turned 4, he doesn’t.
God gives me this idea. I pulled this bottle of Tabasco Sauce from
the back of the refrigerator. The cap had not been put on firmly, so the rim
was nice and crusty. I put him in my lap and said, “Do you want to drink this?”
He says “No it’s nasty! It is spicy. It will burn and make my
tummy ache.”
I said, Liam, that is like hate. You do not want to put hate in
your mouth because it is nasty. You don't want it inside you because it burns
the goodness away. It makes you hurt and broken. When hate is inside you it
hurts you and it hurts others. Do you understand?
He said he did. Maybe, he proved it the next day. On the way
to school, he asked his mom for his favorite song “We don't talk about Bruno.”
--- We hear that song a lot.
She was driving and could pull it up on the phone; but, he kept
asking why. Finally in desperation, she says, “My phone is broken!”
In a 4-year old's logic, he says, “It must have got something
spicy in it.”
That is how our life is - this world gets inside of us. The nasty
old crusty bottle of worldliness burns up the goodness and we forget Jesus. We
forget why we eat the bread of life and drink from the cup of salvation.
We turn from love to hate.
The greatest commandment is love God with all we are and love our
neighbor as ourselves. That is seen as less and less important. It is alive in
people of all races, cultures, and viewpoints. The world does not want us to
know that. It does not want us to love God, each other, and to forgive one
another.
The world wants us to hate.
People can bring that attitude to the Church even though they do
not see it. They have stopped listening to the word of God. They sit at his table,
but it is not important to them. They don't know God and they stand outside the
door. To them, the LORD will say I do not know you.
Hate and the bigotry, prejudice, vitriol, disrespect, and violence
hurt us and others. It causes us to be broken. The broken person is not new.
Isaiah prophesied.
“People from all nations will come to see God’s glory, but if you
are coming to God’s temple bring your offerings in clean vessels.”
Jesus teaches that to enter into God’s kingdom requires the
discipline of knowing, following, and listening to God. He calls it a narrow
gate.
St. Paul tells us God comes to us every day. God comes in times of
trial, turmoil, and trouble. He communicates in times of joy and happiness. In
these, we are to strengthen ourselves and make our paths straight.
Friends, God speaks to our hearts in different ways -- in
creation, in everyday experience, in the things we love.
A dialogue with God must go both ways. God talks to us; but do we
hear his word? He knows us. He knows our thoughts. Do we know God’s voice and
listen?
Are we strong enough to talk to God with all that we are including
fears, troubles, joy, and concerns. Can we get mad at God, laugh with God,
mourn with God, rejoice with God?
God spoke to me and my grandson with a bottle of tabasco sauce. I took it in little bites and chewed it good and long to see
God’s message. It is not necessary something that comes easily.
To grow in this, I partake in spiritual direction. I have a
spiritual director that helps me in my friendship with God. It is a
friendship I desire and God desires for me to have. My spiritual director is
helping me grow in that relationship.
Priests, deacons, religious brothers and sisters, all seek
spiritual direction. If you are seeking to grow in your friendship with God and
your dialogue with the mysterious other, spiritual direction may be for you. It
may be what you need to open the door, to truly hear Jesus' words and
teachings. To fully sit at the LORD’s table.
Lord open the door for us so that each of us may grow in your
friendship.
Remember, in this crusty world, it is important for us to be good,
to be holy, and to preach the Gospel by the way you live your life and love one
another.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
