A homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois on Sunday, August 22, 2010.
Proper 16 -- Isaiah 28:14–22; Psalm 46; Hebrews 12:18–19,22–29; Luke 13:22–30
Does “you” mean “me”?
I think that’s the central question that arises as we think about how we ought to apply Jesus’ instructions to us, as we hear them in today’s gospel text.
Notice what Jesus says:
1. “(You) strive to enter by the narrow door,”
- and a little later, he says –
2. “I do not know where you come from, depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.”
Actually, the word “you” appears quite frequently in the words that Jesus speaks, beginning with the command to “strive”, where it is understood.
Just to be sure we see all of them, allow me to include Jesus’ teaching in its entirety, putting in italic print all the occasions where the word “you” appears (either when it is understood, or when it is actually spoken).
Here is the text:
Jesus said to the crowd, “(You) strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Jesus wanted the crowd who’d gathered around Him to get the point, didn’t He?
Jesus wants us to get the point, too.
What is the point, exactly?
I believe the point is this, and it is to be found in the progression of the narrative. Notice that progression:
- The unnamed questioner begins by asking a general question, saying, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” The question has to do with those people out there, and with the big picture. Put another way, the questioner seems to be asking Jesus to “show us the big picture, tell us who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’.”So, the progression is from the general to the specific.
- Jesus responds by bringing the general question, dealing with those people out there, into the very personal and specific. It is worth noting that Jesus uses the second person plural in all of the references where He says “you” and “your”, but the message is still very personal, and it is a targeted message, meant to apply directly to His listeners.
It’s as if Jesus is saying to His original audience, and to us, “Don’t be concerned with the big picture, be concerned about yourself and your own relationship to God.”
But Jesus doesn’t leave His original hearers, or us, in the dark about the “big picture”, for He ends His discourse by providing a glimpse of the “big picture”, saying, “And men will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
So, does “you” mean “me”?
The answer seems to be, “Yes, ‘you’ does mean ‘me’.”
In truth, many Christians have been very preoccupied with the question that we hear today. There are churches in existence today whose main concern seems to be “Who’s saved, and who isn’t?”
There’s nothing wrong with that concern.
After all, your clergy are vitally concerned about it. We attempt to assess where each person in our care is in their relationship with God. We do this for every member of our congregation(s).
I’ll bet you didn’t know that we clergy do this. Well, we do.
We clergypersons ask ourselves much the same question we hear today, “Lord, who are those who are being saved?”
We don’t mean to put anyone on the spot about this. But I thought it would be important for you to know, anyway.
You see, that’s our ministry, as clergypersons, to try to do everything we can to bring every person in our care into a close and personal relationship with God, and to nurture that relationship.
Now, let’s return now to our main focus: “Does ‘you’ mean ‘me’?”
If “you” means “me”, then what is it that each of us is supposed to do in response to Jesus’ teaching?
Four observations come to mind, and all four arise from the text. They are:- Be concerned about yourself: Ultimately, none of us (not even clergy) can mold and shape the nature of other people’s relationship with God. It’s up to each person to do that, as each person responds to what God has done in sending Jesus Christ to teach us and to save us through His death and resurrection.
- We have work to do: Notice Jesus’ command to “strive”. That command was addressed directly to the people who originally heard His voice. But that command is also addressed to you and to me. Put another way, we have work to do! That work has to do with building our relationship with God, as we respond to God’s work, done in Jesus Christ.
- The need is urgent, and the time is short: Jesus seems to indicate that the time for action is limited. He uses the image of the shutting of the door. Once the door is shut, the opportunity for entry is gone! Put another way, Jesus is warning us not to think that we have lots and lots of time to cultivate our relationship with God. “Let’s get to work, now!” is a good way to characterize this part of Jesus’ message.
- Being familiar with God isn’t good enough: Jesus seems to be addressing a common attitude among the people He came into contact with 2,000 years ago. The four gospels paint a picture of a people who thought that, because they had some sort of a relationship with God through the Law of Moses and through regular worship in the Temple in Jerusalem that those things were good enough. But Jesus warns against the temptation to think that a casual relationship with God is good enough. Indeed, He seems to tell His original audience that many people who will come into the kingdom of God will come from far outside the borders of the Holy Land. His words are, “men will come from east and west, from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God.” And just to be very, very clear about the matter, He adds, “And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” It’s worth noting that by the time Luke was writing down his gospel account, many who had come into the kingdom of God weren’t Jews by birth at all. Many were Gentiles. They had come from east and west, from north and south.
Yes, indeed it does.
Is the Lord calling us, each one of us, into a deep and personal relationship with Him?
Yes, He is.
Is He calling for that relationship to begin – or to deepen – today?
Yes, He is.
AMEN.
