{"id":4757,"date":"2016-08-21T10:03:58","date_gmt":"2016-08-21T15:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/?p=4757"},"modified":"2016-09-22T10:59:02","modified_gmt":"2016-09-22T15:59:02","slug":"will-the-master-know-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/spiritual-reflections\/will-the-master-know-you","title":{"rendered":"Will the Master know you?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A reflection on the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. First Reading: Isaiah 66.18-21; Second Reading: Hebrews 12.5-7, 11-13; Gospel: Luke 13.22-30<\/em><\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, \u2018Lord, open the door for us.\u2019 He will say to you in reply, \u2018I do not know where you are from.\u2019 And you will say, \u2018We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.\u2019 Then he will say to you, \u2018I do not know where you are from.\u2019\u201d\u00a0Luke 13.25-27<\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"closeup-2292\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When Jesus answers the question, \u201cLord, will only a few be saved?\u201d he uses the parable of the master\u00a0of the house who shuts the door on\u00a0those who say they know him. Yet the master says, \u201cI do not know where you are\u00a0from.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is Jesus saying about what it means to know and\u00a0follow Christ? Who will the Master recognize? In his every teaching and action,\u00a0Jesus has shown\u00a0us the way of the Gospel, the way of the narrow door, the way that is pleasing to God, the way to Eternal Life\u2026<\/p>\n

Christ, if he had wanted, could have enjoyed a comfortable and leisurely life during his time on earth. After all, he was God and He could certainly have arranged things differently. His parents might have been wealthy. He could have been born in a castle. Instead, he chose a stable. He might have lived his growing years in the bright lights of the city attracting all kinds of attention. He preferred to remain unknown and hidden in the humble surroundings of Nazareth.<\/p>\n

He might have soft-peddled his message to have it accepted by all. Rather, he gave it straight. Some accepted it, others found it too difficult, still in others it evoked hatred, anger, and strong criticism and finally it led to his death.<\/p>\n

He chose to be on call anytime and anywhere. He wanted to be where he was needed. He could have mingled with the upper crust of society enjoying all kinds of social activities. However, his friends were the common people, the poor, the destitute, the oppressed, the suffering, and the outcasts.<\/p>\n

It was hardly by accident that Christ chose to live this type of life. He had a message to bring and he wanted to live out this message to the full. He was the ideal Christian, the supreme example. To be a Christian means to sacrifice, to struggle, to suffer, to love, to stand up for what is right. Christ did all this. And so must we. Only then will the Master know us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A reflection on the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. First Reading: Isaiah 66.18-21; Second Reading: Hebrews 12.5-7, 11-13; Gospel: Luke 13.22-30 \u201cAfter the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, \u2018Lord, open the door for us.\u2019 He will say to you in reply, \u2018I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4761,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4757"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4762,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4757\/revisions\/4762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scarboromissions.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}