Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Are you saved?” No, really. “Are you saved?” I have a follow-up question. If your answer is “I am!” “How can you be sure?” After all, Jesus tell his disciples that they must “strive enter through the narrow gate” (Lk 13:24). He even says, “Those who are first will be last and the last will be first” (Lk 13: 30). Are we striving to enter through the narrow gate? Is are striving to be first of last? As you can see, the answer to the question “Are you saved?” is really not that easy.
The question about salvation, about who will and will not be saved is a complex question. Let us reflect on today’s scripture to know what God has to say. God has three points:
1. Universal Salvation? The question “Lord, will only a few be saved?” that the disciples asked Jesus was a random, out-of-the-blue, where-did-that-come-from, kind of a question. I wonder what was in their mind! Did they presume their own salvation? History will tell us that wars have been fought over this question. The Thirty year in Europe between Catholics and Protestants was fought precisely for this reason. The answer is already in the Scripture. In today first reading God says: “I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory” (Is 66:18). In other words, God wishes that all, and not just a few, are saved. After all, we are all God’s children. Which parent does not want the best for their children, the ones in their own image and likeness? God wants us all to be saved so much that God sent Jesus to draw us all toward salvation. Salvation is God’s gift to ALL. This is God’s will.
2. Enter by the Narrow Gate. In the first point, we have merely revealed God’s wish for all. But who will be saved? Jesus does not give a clear direct answer. His answer was, “Strive to enter by the narrow gate!” His answer was different from the answers we might give today. “You have to be baptized!” “Convert to Catholicism!” “Go for confession and Mass!” “Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior!” “You have to be born again!” Jesus cautioned us against such answers. In fact, he said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.Many will say to me on that day,‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’(Mt 7). Jesus’ answer in today’s gospel reading is something you and I must reflect on deeply. “Strive to enter through the narrow gate!” What is the narrow gate? The narrow gate is the imitation of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was God. But Jesus Christ was also the human person par excellence. God sent Jesus so that we might revert back to image in which we are all created – the image of Jesus Christ. If we want to be saved, it is not enough be a Christian. If we want to be saved, at the end of our lives, we must look more and more like Jesus! When we stand before God on judgment day, when God sees us, God must see us transformed into the image of Jesus. Let me add this, I know people who are not baptized but imitate Jesus that better than many who are baptized. “Who will be saved?” Draw your conclusion, folks.
3. Being First or Last Matters. We still have to deal with the conclusion of today’s gospel reading, where Jesus says, “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last” (Lk 13:30). When Luke wrote the gospel, the ‘first’ were those Jewish Christians who thought that because God’s revelation first came to the Hebrew people, salvation comes from them. As a result, they wanted new Gentile Christians to accept the law, subject themselves to circumcision, become Jews, and then be accepted a Christians. In Jesus’ own time, the Pharisees similarly claimed the right to salvation. The tax-collectors, prostitutes and sinners were treated as condemned. However, it was the very people who were considered condemned by the Pharisees who responded better to Jesus. They were making it to the Kingdom before the pharisees. Hence, Jesus’ statement, “Some who are last will be first and some who are first will be last.” What does this mean for us? This is a caution to us against complacency.Some of us, and that includes me, might think of ourselves as first in line. Gosh, as a priest, I have given my life to God and God’s people. Surely, I deserve heaven! Jesus reminds me that salvation is not my right. Salvation is God’s gift to me. When I think of salvation as my right then I am putting myself first, even before God. The first will be last. When I think of salvation as a gift, it is then that I am putting myself last. The last will be first.
The invitation of every Eucharist is the become what we eat – the body of Christ. May this Eucharist help us transform ourselves more and more into the image of the Christ we consume. Then indeed we will be saved!
Fr. Satish Joseph