Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 21, 2022: Strive to enter through the narrow gate...

Strive to enter through the narrow gate…

Are you fully committed to the love of God? 

    Midway through Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem, where he will die, and nothing must stand in the way of his reaching that city and succeeding in his aim. Jesus continues to proclaim the kingdom to his disciples, and so when he is asked, Lord, will only a few people be saved?, his response must be understood in the context of his own imminent death. Strive to enter through the narrow gate, he responds, for many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. Committed to his own goal, Jesus is asking for their single-minded commitment as well, a commitment which requires surrendering to his love and to God’s will. While we are concerned with things other than the kingdom, the master will not open the door that he has locked, Jesus adds, and others whom his followers might deem unworthy will have perhaps entered before them: some who are last will be first. To enter the kingdom through the narrow gate, we must be one with him, fully surrendering to the power of his love at work in our lives. 

    Such commitment is not always easy, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us. In that community, some have rejected their faith in order to preserve their lives; the persecutions are the trials that the author of the Letter says they must endure as ‘discipline.’ They are children of the Lord, he reminds the community, and must stay true to the Lord’s path in spite of any and all difficulties. Firm in their commitment, they will be like the fugitives the Lord will send to the nations and distant coastlands in the Book of Isaiah, ready to proclaim God’s glory among the nations following the dictum to praise the Lord given in Psalm 117. We too must remain true to that relationship, committed to God’s love. 

    Are we ready to commit to the Lord’s path, holding firmly to our faith, surrendering to the power of his love in our lives, suffering, if necessary, but always and everywhere ready to proclaim God’s glory through praise? Will we strive to enter through the narrow gate? As disciples, we must be strong, because, Jesus tells us, it’s worth it! 

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Sunday Gospel Reflection, August 25, 2019: Strive to enter through the narrow gate...

Strive to enter through the narrow gate…

How do we enter the kingdom of God?

  The people of Israel were sent into exile in Babylon in large part because of their worship of false idols, their greed, and their self-focus.  When they return, at the end of the Book of Isaiah, God knows they are still in need of conversion, of transformation.  So God sends out a call for all to gather, that they might be cleansed, made into clean vessels for the love of God.  Once purified, the people will have a new way of seeing themselves; they themselves will be, in fact, an offering to the Lord.  Isaiah’s call is to nations of every language; Psalm 117 exhorts all you nations to praise the Lord, who, in his fidelity and kindness, enables their conversion, their return to covenant.

  Though it may not sound like it at first, Jesus similarly opens the door to conversion and covenant to all in Luke’s Gospel.  When asked, Lord, will only a few people be saved? Jesus replies, Strive to enter through the narrow gate.  Focus is necessary:  we must choose obedience to the Lord, choose relationship, that we might recline at table in the kingdom of God.  It is in listening to God, paying attention to God’s will, that we can recognize and let go of our blindness.  Conversion is necessary if we are to come to the knowledge that God’s infinite love is extended to all.  The Letter to the Hebrews also reminds us of God’s transformative love:  he whom the Lord loves, he disciplines.  Learning (discipline) is a natural part of the journey, whether it be through suffering or through our experience of God’s love.  All life experiences, even the painful ones, are salvific, helping us to enter the kingdom of God, because every life experience opens us, changes us, transforms us.  God’s love transcends the best and worst of this life; it is greater than anything we might know on our own – if only we have the vision, and courage, to see it and to choose it in spite of our trials along the way.  If we keep our eyes on the prize – perfect union with God in heaven – we will enter the kingdom, hearts converted to God, rejoicing in God’s covenant love for all.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.

Image source:  www.wordclouds.com