God Excludes to Include

Our God is a God of paradox.  Every time we think we can come to understand God, there is more confusion that comes with it. God reveals Himself in some ways only to make Himself hidden.  One of the ways I learned this was early in the seminary with a priest named Father Tosco. Father Tosco is a wonderful priest. He is a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph(CSJ). He taught scripture to us. One of the first classes he taught us was the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. Or as he would say, the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the points he made early on that really caused me a lot of confusion, but has always come back to me over the years, is a paradoxical statement. Are you ready for it? “God always excludes to include.” That is difficult for us to understand because we live in such an inclusive culture.

“God always excludes to include.” What does that mean? The idea of God excluding is the God throughout all of salvation history has always set certain people apart for the inclusion of the entire world.  That is the paradox. God excludes to include. I am going to go through and give you some examples from today’s Readings. We hear in the First Reading, “Israel, Israel you are my chosen servant through whom I show my glory.” The people of Israel were the chosen people. Until Christ came into the world, the focused attention of God was on Israel. They were the chosen people. They were the exclusive people that were set apart.”You are my servant, Israel.” God chose this one nation, Israel, and set them apart as His beloved people. Was it just for themselves?  No, it was for the inclusion of the entire world. We hear that in the next line, “Israel, through whom I will show my glory.” God wanted to show His glory to the entire world through Israel. It goes on to say that is not only for Israel, but for the entire world.

He says that Jacob may come back to me, so that the whole tribe of Jacob may come back.  That all of Israel may be gathered together, and I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord. He goes on further and He says, “It is too little, says the Lord for you to be My servant. So it is too little for just Israel to be the important people.” God says, “I will make you a light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the ends of the world.” Notice how He takes Israel, He makes Israel his special servant, his chosen people, and then he says it’s too little for you just to be the excluded ones. I want to do this for the salvation of the world, that you may be my light.

Then we hear this in the Second Reading.  Saint Paul was talking with the Corinthians and he was talking about how they are the chosen ones, and how they are the people that are sanctified.  He says to the church in Corinth, “You have been sanctified, and sanctified means to be holy, to be set apart from all of creation.  You’ve been sanctified in Christ Jesus, to be called Holy.”   

We hear in The Gospel, John the Baptist talk about the biggest event of all where God excludes this one child, this one human being, Jesus. Then John the Baptist says, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me.” He was talking about how Jesus is ahead of him, because He existed before him.  On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, He is the one who will Baptize with the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ Baptism, we see the biggest exclusion of all, the Holy Spirit came down upon this one human being and said, “You are My Beloved One, My Chosen One, in whom I am well pleased.” Was it just for that one person?  No, it was for the salvation of the entire world. This can be difficult for us again because it is a paradox and because we live in a culture that wants to be inclusive.  We want to include everything and everyone. By the way, God does too, but He has a process, or a way of doing it. Think about it with all of our Sacraments.  They are all Sacraments of exclusion. They are all Sacraments that exclude some for the salvation of all.

How many of you are Baptized? Raise your hand. Okay, is anybody not Baptized? Raise your hand. There might be a couple of you.  It is okay. For those of you who just raised your hand, I have to tell you, breaking news, not everybody is Baptized.  If you are Baptized, you have been chosen by God and set apart as holy. You are part of the exclusive club here. But it is not just for yourself. It is for the salvation of the world. You are supposed to go out now and try to get every single person that you meet into this church. Your exclusion was for the inclusion of all.

If we think about Holy Communion, we do not have an inclusive Holy Communion. By that, I mean not everybody is supposed to come forward for Holy Communion. It is only for Catholics who are actually in good Faith. I love to say to people, especially at weddings and funerals, “You are all welcome to come to Holy Communion, but we have a process for it.” We do have a process of entering into Holy Communion. At the later Mass, the people that are going through the Right of Christian Initiation, are going through that process. They are going through the process of inclusion, and for a while they are going to be excluded for the salvation of all.

Confirmation is a further seal upon you. If you’re wondering whether or not you should be Confirmed, yes, you want to be Confirmed!  You will receive the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, not everyone else. Why? God is excluding you, setting you apart for the salvation of all.

Let us look at the Sacrament of Marriage. One man and one woman are excluded. The exclusive union between two people. God uses this exclusive union, where these two people cannot love anyone else in the way that they can love each other. Does He do it just for the sake of them? No. He does it for the salvation of all so that their marriage and their home may become this primary church not only for their children but anyone who walks into it.  God excludes to include.

Finally, Holy Orders. I know this is a difficult one, but for some reason God chooses male. He chooses the male priesthood. He sets me unlikely apart. Is it just for myself? Is it for my glory? No. It is for the salvation of all. God sets apart for the salvation of all.

Anointing of the sick. The priest lays hands on those who are sick. You have to be seriously ill to receive anointing.  Not everybody can receive it. In a sense, it is an exclusive Sacrament for those who are ill.  Is it just for that person’s healing? No. It is for the salvation of all, that anyone who prays for that person, or witnesses or experiences that healing, will experience this wonderful Sacrament of God’s healing and restoring grace.

The bottom line is, like it or not, you are chosen. If you have been baptized, if you can come forward to receive Holy Communion, you are part of God’s exclusive group. Is it all about you? No. It is for the salvation of the whole world. The idea is that every time we come here, God is setting us apart.  He is making us holy. He is drawing us as His holy people, so that He can indeed receive and include the entire world.   I know, He is a God of paradox. I know you may not understand this at first, but I invite you to wrestle with this whole notion that God excludes to include.