+- Luckymodena (http://lucky.myftp.org:8181/forum)
+-- Forum: Life Voyage : Life, experience and sharing (/forumdisplay.php?fid=10)
+--- Forum: Scripture readings (/forumdisplay.php?fid=12)
+--- Thread: SALVATION IS NOT BY THE FREE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP BUT RELATIONSHIP AND DISCIPLESHIP (/showthread.php?tid=2087)
SALVATION IS NOT BY THE FREE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP BUT RELATIONSHIP AND DISCIPLESHIP - stephenkhoo - 08-25-2013 10:59 AM
25 August 2013, 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
SALVATION IS NOT BY THE FREE GIFT OF MEMBERSHIP BUT RELATIONSHIP AND DISCIPLESHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: ISAIAH 66:18-21; HEBREWS 12:5-7.11-13; LUKE 13:22-30
“Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making His way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?‘” Indeed, the question of salvation has caused many to become fearful, confused or even resentful of God.
Significantly, Jesus did not answer the question directly. He was not interested in speculation about how many would be saved. Instead He responded by showing us the way to salvation. “He said, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.’”
Nevertheless, the scriptures are clear that God wants us all to be saved. This is what Jesus Himself told the Jews: “men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” God intends that salvation begins from Israel, but reaches out to all the nations.
Right from the outset therefore, we must state emphatically that salvation is the work of God and a free gift. It is God who takes the initiative; not man. However, we must cooperate with His grace. That is why Jesus warned us of the need to enter by the narrow door. What is this narrow door if not through Him?
Salvation is not a matter of membership but relationship and discipleship. The real reason why many Catholics and Christians are still not “saved”, nor living the fullness of life, which is the life of grace, is because they have reduced faith to membership. Although baptized, they practically have no relationship with Christ and of course are not living up to the demands of discipleship as well.
This was what happened to the Jews. They thought that their salvation was guaranteed just because they were the Chosen People of God. But Jesus balked at such a suggestion. He warned them, “Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside.”
The same warning applies to us as well. Many Catholics are content simply to be baptized, observe some rituals and attend Mass on Sundays. If we have no personal relationship with Jesus, if we do not know Him personally, then as Jesus said, “Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us’ but he will answer, ‘I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men!’” In other words a superficial relationship with Jesus will get us nowhere.
Beyond a personal relationship, we must live out our discipleship as well. Discipleship is what going through the narrow door is all about. We must tread the path of our master too, namely, the way of the cross. The image of trying to enter by the narrow door is that of a struggle. In order to share the fullness of Christ’s life in the kingdom, we must follow Jesus in our struggle against the temptations of the Evil One, the World and the Flesh. Like Jesus, we must strive to be faithful to the will of the Father and fight against sin until the point of death. A Christian who has stopped growing in holiness or is living a life of complacency is already being won over by the Evil One. Spiritual growth is an ongoing process and one never stops till one arrives at the gate of heaven.
How, then, can we strengthen our spiritual life and grow in discipleship? The letter of Hebrews reminds us that the way of holiness entails the path of purification through suffering and training. The Lord purifies us in love most of all through the sufferings that come our way in daily life. Such suffering can come as a consequence of our follies and sins. When we suffer the consequences of sin, instead of being resentful and angry with God or run away from facing the truth about ourselves, we must be courageous and take our sufferings positively as a lesson from God for us to come to self-realization so that we can truly repent of our past unbecoming behavior and walk the path of truth and wisdom. Sufferings should not be seen as God’s punishment or wrath, but as His mercy, for He knows that if love cannot make us change, then suffering can awaken us from our foolishness.
Of course, many times, we also suffer, not because of our sins but due to the injustices and the sins of our fellowmen. If that were the case, then we too can purify our love for them and most of all, for God. This is particularly true when it comes to innocent suffering. Jesus Himself too suffered innocently for our sins and for crimes He did not commit. Just as Jesus learned obedience through suffering, and through His sacrificial death on the Cross, revealed His Father’s love for humanity, at times we too are called to take upon innocent suffering so that we can learn to surrender our ego, our pride and our will entirely to God. Through innocent suffering, we perfect our love both for our fellowmen and for God. For by suffering without retaliation, we remove all that prevent us from loving, namely, unforgiveness, hatred, revenge and resentments. Freed from our ego, we live a life of freedom.
Finally, we grow in discipleship also through the exercise of discipline by living a life of prayer, self-denial, mortification, penance and good works. Holiness requires that we discipline and purify our senses and intellect. Virtues must be cultivated day by day. We must endeavour to deepen our faith, hope and love for God. We must seek to exercise the moral virtues of justice and temperance in daily living. Without training ourselves in a life of charity and a life of self-control with respect to food, entertainment and pleasure, we would succumb easily to the temptations of the Evil One. As Jesus cautions us, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!” (Mk 14:38) Besides purifying our senses, we must also purify our intellect as well so that our thoughts will be pure and holy. Just by declaring that we are Christ’s friends, simply because “we once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets” will not bring us to the kingdom. True discipleship requires that we live the life of humility, compassion and commitment to our responsibilities and duties.
In our struggle against sin and in our desire to grow in holiness through discipleship, let us not give up so easily. We must persevere and even if we fall, we must quickly get up and move on.
In the final analysis, there can be no real discipleship without relationship with Christ. For this relationship to flourish, we need to make time for Jesus in prayer and meditation on the Word of God. If we love someone, we must make time for the relationship to flourish. It is through intimacy and love that we grow in trust, in confidence and identification. Hence, without fervent prayer and intimacy with Christ, we will not be able to find the strength nor the wisdom to carry our crosses cheerfully and beneficially.
Finally, let us take heed of Christ’s warning when He said, “Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.” God has given us the grace of baptism, the gift of eternal life; let us not receive this grace in vain!
. - See more at: http://www.csctr.net/reflections/#sthash.d95s9TU6.dpuf