Holy Spirit Catholic Church
Homilies
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (c) 2010
August 29, 2010
Emily Griffin wrote a book
called "Turning". It describes how she graduated from college,
doubting the existence of God and thinking that religion was a crutch
that people turned to for support. But Emily also graduated with a deep
love of nature. And it was this love of nature that eventually got her
to rethink her ideas on God and religion.
Emily read everything she could find on the subject of God and religion.
She read, especially, the writings of C.S. Lewis and Thomas Merton, who
had struggled with questions similar to hers. To make a long story
short, after much study and discussion, she eventually entered the
Catholic Church.
Emily is a living example of what Jesus means in today's Gospel when he
says that the door to God's kingdom is narrow. It is not narrow because
God made it that way so that only a few people could pass through it.
Rather it is narrow because we make it that way by our own doubts and
deeds!
There's a "Peanuts" cartoon that shows Charlie Brown getting up one
morning and looking out the window. It's a lovely winter day. Snow
covers the ground. It's very cold, but perfect for skiing. So Charlie
bundles up with several layers of clothes. Then he puts on his big
gloves and his skis. When he moves toward the door, he discovers that
he's so bundled up that he can't get through the door. So he stands
there screaming at the top of his lungs.
The image of Charlie Brown standing in front of the door too bundled up
to pass through it is a good image of many of us today. We want to
follow Jesus. But we are so bundled up in material possessions and
material concerns that we can't get through the door. So, like Charlie
Brown, we end up standing in front of the door screaming.
And sometimes it's not just our material possessions and concerns that
keep us from passing through the door. Sometimes it's the fear of what
others may say or think.
One of the most famous photographs taken during World War II shows four
Marines planting the American flag on Mt. Surabachi on the island of Iwo
Jima in the Pacific Ocean. The famous photograph was taken just after
the Marines had driven the enemy from this strategic location on the
mountain. The photographer who took the picture braved mine fields and
machine-gun fire to record it. His name was Joe Rosenthal.
Joe was not a stranger to courage. He was a Jew who became convinced
that Jesus was not only the promised Messiah but also the very Son of
God. He decided to become a Catholic. His family and friends fought his
decision. They thought he was making a mistake. And so to do what he
thought was right, Joe had to go against their wishes. He loved them
dearly so it was a painful task, but he had to follow his own
conscience.
When newspapers and magazines printed Joe's prize winning photo,
everyone wanted to know more about the man who took the picture. In an
interview, Joe told a journalist: "The day before we went ashore on Iwo
Jima, I attended Mass and received Holy Communion." Then referring to
his conversion to Catholicism, he said: "If a man is genuinely convinced
he has the truth, and still neglects it, he is a traitor, and that goes
not only for my Jewish friends who fail to attend the synagogue each
Saturday, but also for my Catholic friends who miss Mass on Sunday."
And so sometimes the thing that keeps us from entering the door to God's
kingdom is not just material possessions and concerns, but also what
others may say or think of us.
The story of Joe Rosenthal also illustrates a second big point that
Jesus makes in today's Gospel. It illustrates what Jesus meant when he
said, "Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be
last." Joe did not begin life as a follower of Jesus, as many of us did.
In that sense, he was last and we were first. But Joe's discovery of
Jesus and his dedication to him put him ahead of many people who were
born with faith in Jesus. In that sense he who was last became first.
The stories of Emily Griffin and Joe Rosenthal help us better appreciate
the meaning of today's Gospel. The door to the kingdom is narrow not
because God deliberately made it so, but because we ourselves make it
so! We tend to get so wrapped up in material possessions and concerns
and in what others might think or say of us that we cannot pass through
it. So, like Charlie Brown, we stand in front of the door, frustrated
and screaming.
As a result, many people who began last, like Emily and Joe, end up
first. And many of us who began first end up last.
This is the message that Jesus speaks to us in today's Gospel. It is a
message that challenges us to ask ourselves, "How willing are we to shed
whatever is necessary to pass through the door to Jesus?" The door is
open. It is wide enough to pass through, but only for those who value
Jesus more than anything else, including their possessions and what
other people think.