At the end of the Book of the prophet Isaiah, we hear God’s
universal call to worship: I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory. In
a turn that may well have been shocking to the people of Israel, all brothers and sisters from all the
nations are invited into covenant relationship with God. But true worship is necessary. It’s not enough to follow a set of rules; we
have to enter into a real life with God, a lived relationship, and,
as Psalm 117 instructs us, praise the
Lord for his covenant with us, recognizing
God’s kindness and fidelity.
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus similarly reminds those he teaches
that salvation is for all: 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. Yet we Christians can’t take our covenant
relationship with God for granted; we have to live it, to focus on the
direction God gives us, with an eye to that all important relationship, the
most important one we have. And, as the
Letter to the Hebrews indicates, we have to live with the expectation that our
spiritual life will involve change and transformation, enduring our trials and
not losing heart when God sees fit to discipline
us, as a father disciplines his
child. But the promise is real: all must strive
to enter through the narrow gate, Jesus says, constantly attentive to
relationship with the Lord, ever aware that some
who are last will be first, and will enjoy the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
It's also post number 1000 for the OLMC blog -- thanks for reading!
Image source: Wordle
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