Monday, Twenty First Week in Ordinary Time In this morning’s gospel reading Jesus condemns the religious leaders of his time because they shut up the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. In other words, they hinder people from entering the kingdom of heaven, by trying to keep people from following Jesus who came to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus was very critical of those who were an obstacle to other people coming to believe in him. He was critical of his own disciples for trying to prevent children drawing near to him, in spite of the wishes of the children’s parents to the contrary. He was critical of those who tried to prevent blind Bartimaeus from making contact with him. Rather than shutting up the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces, Jesus wants his followers to open up the kingdom of heaven to others. We are to lead each other to the Lord, to reveal the Lord to each other, and, in so doing, to support one another on our journey towards the kingdom of heaven. There are many people in the gospels who brought others to Jesus and who can be an inspiration to us. We only have to think of John the Baptist whose life mission was to lead people to Jesus and in that way to open up the kingdom of heaven to others. Saint Paul was very aware of his calling to lead others to the Lord. In this morning’s first reading he reminds the church in Thessalonica of ‘the sort of life we lived when we were with you, which was for your instruction’. We all need the support of each other’s faith, each other’s lived witness, as we journey on our pilgrim way through life.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 07:20:47 +0000
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