August 21st - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Is 66:18-21; Heb 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30)
The passage in Isaiah echoes a central theme of the book of Isaiah that Israel’s God is the Lord of all nations. The Lord knows how all people think and act, and uses this knowledge to accomplish divine plans. The Psalm instructs us to “Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.” Hebrews reminds us that life in Christ does not come naturally, but requires life-long training. The children of God ought to expect that struggles will come as the normal means of growth in faith. The Christian’s role in the face of these trials is to endure and take the long view and trust that temporary trials will bear the peaceful fruit borne by doing the right thing. Luke’s Gospel reminds us it is much more than just being in the right place on Sunday morning. It means placing ourselves entirely at the disposition of God’s grace and so surrendering ourselves to it in such a way that we become partakers of the divine nature. What we are called to is a high degree of holiness or sanctity. It is love that makes us like God, and love alone is worth the whole of our striving.