Today's Gospel should be taken seriously and definitely take Jesus' words at heart, especially for those of us who think that it is easy to be saved without our tireless efforts. It’s easy to presume we will be saved. It’s easy to simply presume that God is kind and that we are good people at heart and, therefore, salvation is assured. But that’s not what Jesus says. When Jesus was asked the question "will there be a few to be saved?" He doesn’t really give a direct answer to this question. Rather, he turns the tables. He first, says that we should all try hard to enter into the narrow door because at the end, many will try to enter and will not succeed, many will knock on the door and the Lord will say, 'I don't know you,' many will come from East and West, north and south and enter into the kingdom, while the chosen ones are declined, and so the first will be the last and the last the first. Again, we should take these words to heart.
What's is the significance of Jesus' words? The Jews knew themselves as a chosen race and the prophets all proclaimed this and so every Jew would enter the kingdom of God, irrespective of what one does. However, this is not how Jesus takes it, it is not that easy to enter the kingdom of heaven by just mere words. Jesus stresses the difficulty of entrance to the Kingdom in today's Gospel among other warnings like in Matthew 7.21-23: it is not enough to keep calling out, ‘Lord, Lord!’ without actually doing the will of the Father, then the parable of the wedding attendants, five wise with oil in their lamps, and five unprepared for the wedding-feast who too vainly cry, ‘Lord, Lord!’ from outside the door without the door being open. All these warnings tell us that we need to do something, that is we need to pass through the narrow door.
What is this narrow door? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9). God sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open the way for us to have full access to the throne of God's grace (his favor and blessing) and mercy (his pardon for our sins). Therefore, the door is only through believing in Jesus and do what he tells us, do the will of the Father and above all follow his commandments which are summarised into love of God and neighbor. Only by passing through this door, we can enter the kingdom of heaven. It is narrow because, Jesus' teachings are radical and would be rejected by many while demanding serious radical decisions to be taken by those to follow him of which many are not ready to do.
Jesus knowing this, he tells us that we have to always strive to pass through this door. The word strive can also be translated as agony. To enter the kingdom of God we must struggle against every force or power of opposition - even the temptation to remain indifferent, apathetic, or compromising in our faith and personal trust in Jesus, our hope in holding firm to the promises of Jesus, and our uncompromising love for God above all else (the "love that has been poured into our hearts through the gift of the Spirit which has been given to us" - Romans 5:5).
The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and his grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel with the help and support of our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Philippians 1:27), Jesus assures us of complete victory! He gave us his Holy Spirit who will always be with us be with us to guide us in striving to enter the through the narrow door. St Paul in the first reading tells us that this Spirit completes and furnishes our prayers. How does he do this?
If we pray to praise the glory of God and give thanks for God’s kindness to us, our own prayer can only be inadequate; but it is supercharged by the Spirit. Our prayer of repentance likewise, for our repentance can never be adequate. The same with our protestations of loyalty and commitment. What about our prayer of petition? We pray desperately for a fine evening for the barbeque (or for rain for the garden), but perhaps the Spirit deepens this prayer to our real profound desire to be brought nearer to God by whatever he decides is best for us and those for whom we care! ‘The prayers that the Spirit makes for God’s holy people are always in accordance with the mind of God’ – they go beyond our petty and ephemeral requests, for Christ is praying within us. By this the Spirit keeps us in the way to the kingdom.
Reflect today on the condition of being saved and entering the kingdom of God. Are you ready to always do the will of God not just saying Lord, Lord. Let the Holy Spirit guide you towards this way.
Let us Pray
Lord Jesus, I desire to be saved, I want to strive to enter through the narrow gate and to be your faithful friend I have to stay humble, to stay small, to become once again like a child, trusting more in you than in myself or any otherworldly power. I want to live with the buoyant joy of hope always shining in me and through me. I want to live simply, truly, limpidly, free from all unnecessary complications that inhibit me from living in your peace and spreading that peace all around me. Teach me, Lord; never let me be separated from you. Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment