All nations

The common theme of today’s readings is clear: the universality of God’s kingdom.

The first reading (from Isaiah 56) culminates in the great words

For my house shall be called
a house of prayer for all peoples.

In the second reading (from Romans 11), St. Paul writes of “the reconciliation of the world.”

In the Gospel (Mt. 15:21-28), the Lord provokes and rewards the faith of a woman deemed a foreigner.

Even the Responsorial Psalm (from Ps. 67) repeats this theme

May God have pity on us and bless us;
may he let his face shine upon us.
So may your way be known upon earth;
among all nations, your salvation.

May the nations be glad and exult
because you rule the peoples in equity;
the nations on the earth you guide.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!

This theme is quite appropriate for this week, as young people come from all parts of the globe to gather for World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany.

This theme is also an invitation for each of us to grow.

You and I are finite human beings. We are limited in the number of individuals we can really know or even think about. We cannot speak every language. We cannot understand every culture. We cannot experience everything every person on the planet experiences.

But God embraces us all in his Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Of course, not every person on the planet understands this. Many – far too many – do not know and accept Jesus Christ – even in “Christian nations.”

You and I, therefore, as members of the body of Christ, have much work to do, so that God’s way and God’s salvation may be known more fully among all nations.

You and I, as members of the household of God, have much work to do, so that all of our houses of worship may more truly become houses of prayer for all people.

The word “diversity” is often thrown about nowadays; sometimes it is used (consciously or unconsciously) as an instrument of paternalism, of tokenism, of rebellion - even as an assault on objective values.

It is important for us to embrace the diversity of God’s kingdom: not the cynical diversity of political correctness, but the diversity built on Christ’s command to teach all nations.

This may require us to move outside of our “comfort zones.”

Some of us are only comfortable with people who share our same language, culture, and general appearance. Christ’s command to teach all nations calls us to reach out with the love and truth of Christ to those who are different from ourselves.

Some of us, on the other hand, are not comfortable confronting the “dictatorship of relativism” by asserting the absolute truth and the unique salvation that comes in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior. Christ’s command to teach all nations calls us to reach out with the love and truth of Christ even to those who do not agree.

May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you!
May God bless us,
and may all the ends of the earth fear him!