21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time C.  September 26, 2007.  Our Lady of Grace 5:15, 9:30.   Isaiah 66: 18-21.  Hebrews 12: 5-7, 11-13.  Luke 13: 22-30.

Through her tears a mother said to her 30 year old alcoholic son, “I have been patient with you for many years.  I have overlooked your drinking and I have welcomed you in my house when you have lost your job over and over again.  I have given you money to pay your bills.  Much of that money you have used to buy liquor and to waste your life doing nothing but sitting around.  I have gathered a group of family and friends around me today to say to you something that any mother would find it almost impossible to say.  Not only are you no longer welcome in my home, I am taking your name out of my will until you get the help you need to straighten out your life.  I have been wrong in letting you get by with drinking your life away in the past.  I love you so much that I am telling you today that enough is enough.  I have had the locks changed on the doors to my house.  Until you stop drinking, if you knock on my door I will say, ‘ I am sorry, I do not know who you are!’   Please understand that I love you unconditionally and I will love you always.  Please get help.  I long for the day when you will come home free from the curse of alcoholism.”

Is this woman being a good mother or a bad one?   Is she showing her son the mercy and forgiveness of God, or is she showing her son God’s other face - the face of God that demands accountability and responsible action?  Do good fathers and mothers always treat their children with gentle acceptance and endless tolerance, or do good fathers and mothers set standards and demand right action and accountability from their children?   The Letter to the Hebrews says, “For what ‘son’ is there whom his father does not discipline?  At the time, all discipline seems a cause, not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.  For the one the Lord loves he disciplines – Endure your trials as ‘discipline’ for God treats you like sons.”  

I have two dogs.  I rescued the older dog through the Humane Society from a family where she had been treated cruelly. When she was taken away from them she had almost died from starvation. Nala is a very loving dog, but she always walks with her head down and her tail between her legs in a posture of shame.  I feel very sorry for her when she begs for affection.  Amos, my new puppy looked me square in the eye from the moment I brought him home.  He demands attention and affection. He never begs for it.  He is badly in need of discipline – but he is very emotionally healthy.  The abused dog really belongs to nobody, even though I like her very much.  I can not discipline the two dogs in the same way.

Emotional and sexual abuse does severe and lasting damage to human beings, too.  It is important to remember that kind firmness and tough love are important in raising children who will live and act in responsible ways.  At the same time, children who have been damaged by abuse and traumatic loss in their lives need to be treated with a different kind of sensitivity and kindness.  Discipline must be firm at the same time that it is sensitive to the history and the situation of the person involved.  A life without discipline is chaos and confusion.  A life with the wrong kind of discipline can be hell.

Someone asked Jesus,   “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”    Jesus answered, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”  Then Jesus went on, “After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then you will stand outside knocking and saying ‘Lord, open the door for us.’  He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’   Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’  Then the Lord will say, ‘I do not know where you are from.  Depart from me you evildoers.’   And there will be wailing and the grinding of teeth… ” 

Is God really that stern?  Is God really threatening to lock the door on those who have not been morally and spiritually responsible in their lives?   Jesus is clearly teaching that God does have expectations and that there are consequences to the way that we chose to act.  For several weeks the Gospel of Luke has been showing us the other face of God.   Most of us are very comfortable with the image of God as the Good Shepherd and we cherish and count on the mercy, patience and forgiveness of God.  Jesus revealed the merciful face of God by dying for us on the cross.  But Jesus insists that God is also a judge who teaches discipline and expects accountability.   Jesus teaches us about both images of God because both are important.

Good parents are those who love their children unconditionally and always; at the same time that they discipline their children and expect morally appropriate behavior from them.

God is a loving parent who loves us unconditionally and always; at the same time God disciplines us and expects us to act responsibly.

We don’t get a choice between Jesus as our merciful savior and Jesus as our teacher and judge.  For the grace to live both mercy and accountability in our lives we give God thanks and praise.