"Lord, Will Only A Few People Be Saved?" - Strive To Enter Through The Narrow Gate

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time  Year C  25 August 2013

CHRIST THE KING Parish, Evansville, Indiana                            
Gospel Luke 13:22-30

1. There is no doubt that some followers of Jesus realized that His teachings were rather difficult and there was a lot of uncertainty in being his disciples because someone asked: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” 

It is quite likely this was a question on a lot of the followers’ minds or being whispered among themselves, but only one had the courage to ask it.

But even though only one person asked the question, Jesus answered THEM in the plural: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. 

ASKING JESUS A QUESTION CAN BE DEADLY. OUR OLD IDEAS MIGHT BE challenged or shaken by getting us to really examine our faith, our own beliefs.

See how the person asks the question about others and see how Jesus then turns the question back to the questioner and has the person examine his own path: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.”

Are we on the narrow path? Jesus is quick to quench any judgmental attitude, especially any elitist attitudes that places oneself above or better than others.

Instead of asking “will many be saved?” the person asks: “Will only a few be saved?”  Was it because he only wanted a few to be saved?

It seems some of the disciples already began to approach the kingdom of God with a scarcity mindset that believes that there’s not enough for everyone to have a share.

Why, if we let “those other people” in, then some of us will be left out.

And one may wonder how they asked the question? Was it asked to make sure that only their select few friends, “our kind” of people were going to be saved? Certainly not those other people. Why, they don’t even speak English – I mean Hebrew.

I don’t think I could ever share heaven with him or her or those people.

And, you know, I could never spend eternity with those other people.

Strive to enter through the narrow gate. 

2. Isaiah proclaimed: “I come to gather nations of every language.” All the children of earth would be welcomed into covenant with God. So we know that it’s not just an ethnic thing.

But the people of Israel believed themselves to be the privileged “few”. Those who were unsaved included Gentiles, tax collectors, the unclean and the rest of the decent sinners.

Jesus turned their belief upside down and insisted that membership in the kingdom was not for the  righteous few who were certain that salvation was theirs simply because they were born into it.

Even if we think we know Jesus and walk with him, unless we have a change of heart, we too could lose our salvation.

Jesus reminds us that God cannot be confined to our 
categories of saved and unsaved.

(Pause)

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?” 

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate

3. JESUS never directly answers the question, does he? He turns the focus from a curiosity about the salvation of others, to concern about one’s own salvation…

When Jesus tells us to enter the narrow gate, he is saying the road to salvation is difficult; but he is not saying that only a few will be saved. 

But what he is saying is that there are some who will not make the necessary efforts at entering the kingdom.

Either they do not respond in a timely manner or else they think that they can casually sashay into the kingdom without serious commitment to the cause of discipleship.

Then those who expected to be admitted, “no questions asked” are turned away, while those looked down upon as outsiders are the ones who will be seated around the banquet table.

Yes, there will surely be some surprises in seeing who is saved and who is not. Some of the insiders, the religious elites, may well be locked out, and the outsiders, the outcasts will be welcomed in.

“We cannot be a spiritual country club for the Catholic elite, but we must humble ourselves to serve the Word, become disciples, and evangelize the world with the good news. Otherwise we may become guilty of theological narcissism, and as Pope Francis cautions us: we run the risk of coming “isolated, sterile and sick Christians.” 

He coninues:  “We cannot keep ourselves shut up in our parishes…when so many people are waiting for the Gospel…we must go out…to seek and meet the people…in the nooks and crannies of the streets” (Pope Francis).

 

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate.”

4. Yet salvation requires more than a dip in the baptismal font, receiving communion once or twice a year, or being a mere acquaintance of Jesus or His Mother.

But some will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know you… Depart from me.

He even challenges the idea that just eating and drinking in Jesus’ company or gathering in his name each week is good enough to get to heaven.

So even just going to Mass isn’t enough. Hopefully, we are participating in Mass and not simply punching our ticket. Faith and church attendance must be viewed as more than some eternal fire insurance plan.

Unfortunately there are many practicing Catholics involved in parish activities who do not have a living relationship with God, with Christ.

Yet no matter how busy we are – no matter how much church work we’re doing, “if we’re too busy to pray, then we’re just too busy” (Pope Paul VI).

It is absolutely essential that each of us enter through that narrow gate of personal prayer – setting aside time for prayer and meditation. And when we seek holiness, then God’s grace will overflow to others

But we might say, “I was a lector!” “I was a Eucharistic Minister!” “I was an usher!” Or “I was a Deacon!”

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate

So even if we know all about the faith, and know all about God, and even receive the sacrament of the holy Eucharist, unless our faith is a lived reality, unless we truly love as God is calling us to love, then we are deceiving ourselves and we run the risk of losing the kingdom and being estranged from the Lord.

Unless we spend time with the Lord in prayer and spend time seeking out the lost and forsaken to bring them to Christ, we will be strangers to the Lord, and be cast out into the darkness where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

  

Narrow is the road that leads to life.

We are called to a personal relationship with Christ, called to be disciples; we have to pursue Christ on the narrow road and through the dark valleys to enter heaven.

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

Enter through the narrow gate.

No one is going to just stumble into heaven; it is a struggle.

  

(pause)

For the narrow gate…is Jesus Himself.

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief"

Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!

MERCY SUNDAY

My nephew Thomas recommended a book at our family Easter celebration. His pastor Jeff Kinkaid has recommended it to his congregation. The book is called YOU LOST ME by David Kinnaman. It's all about the 18-29 age group that have jumped ship, the church, that is. Many are spiritual, believe in God, but don't see the need for community or church, others have been burned or grew up being told that one cannot and can never doubt anything or else "you’re out." Where is the love and mercy of Jesus?

This weekend we will hear of Thomas the Apostle who absented himself from church community that first Sunday after Jesus’ Resurrection. Can you imagine the joy when the disciples encountered the Risen Christ Jesus?! And perhaps the sadness that Thomas missed him! Where was Thomas? Doing his taxes?  We do not know.

Anyway, Thomas refuses to believe the other disciples when they inform him that Christ Jesus has been raised. He says he won’t believe it until he himself can experience the risen crucified one for himself.

The following Sunday as the disciples are gathered for weekly worship, Jesus again appears to the community and Thomas is present. Thomas is greeted by Jesus with "Peace". Jesus doesn't scold him for his unbelief. Christ is not afraid of human doubts. He extends peace. Again, it is an opportunity for an invitation to faith, and Thomas exclaims: “My Lord and my God.”

Jesus then says, "Peace be with you."  "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."  And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Sound like we have some forgiving to do (Forgive as I have forgiven you) and then if we retain sins, then they are retained - and this affects us (just as much it does for those we do not forgive). And this being Mercy Sunday, let us pray we hearken to the Master's words: Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy (Mt 5.7).

People are most often tortured for their lack of forgiveness or willingness to forgive others their sins… often these people refuse to forgive others… even though they themselves have been forgiven or have asked forgiveness for the same kind of sins. Some (many?) experience physical ailments when they will not forgive or who hold grudges.

How many times did our Blessed Lord forgive someone who was physically crippled, paralyzed, withered, bent over, and when they were forgiven (we would hope they also then forgave any grievances) and then they got well.

(Do not confuse these with the exorcisms where a demon caused the illness, although I am sure demons enjoy it when we hold grudges or refuse to forgive, but that is a different topic).

So I imagine the early Christian community described by Luke in the Acts of the Apostles is an enormous response to the Lord's Mercy! Look at how those Christians love one another!  Real or imagined, the Church (Christianity) has an enormous PR problem. Real or imagined, the church is viewed as hypocritical, judgmental, and irrelevant by many.

Many of the 18-29 yr olds feel - real or imagined - that the Church left them behind, one said, the way church is done was "damaging my relationship with God." Another wrote "The church was not a safe place to ask questions or hospitable places to express doubts. 

Granted, we are not going to change the truth of the Gospel nor can we, but the question for us to wrestle with is how are we going to present the eternal truths of Christ and the church to a digitalized culture.

Many want to do the faith and not be hearers only, many are spiritual and experience God, but feel disconnected to the institutional church and the "talking heads" (the authors words, not mine).  Disciples cannot be produced or made like consumer goods; they are hand-made, one at a time, one relationship at a time. NOTE that Jesus singled THOMAS out and called him to himself. It is a beautiful grace-filled scene. And Jesus didn't judge him. He simply called him to experience His wounds and to believe. Thomas exclaims “My Lord and My God.”

Faith formation is so needed. So many of our people are already halfway out the door, Christmas and Easter Christians only, and I can only imagine the kids who do not attend church regularly.

The Church cannot be an insular society that turns its back on the world and dwell in the "upper room". No, Jesus said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you,” and “Go make disciples....” It is an awesome task and a great privilege! But we cannot wait.

Our culture demands seemingly "mindless conformity in exchange for belonging," (David Kinnaman, the author of YOU LOST ME), but Jesus calls for a kingdom centered community.

I'll end with Kinnaman's research: He says there are three categories of those lost: the NOMADS, they walk away from the Church, but still consider themselves to be Christian; then are the PRODIGALS who lose faith and no longer consider themselves Christian; lastly are the EXILES who are still invested in their faith, but feel stuck between the church and the culture.

So when Luke relates in the ACTS of the APOSTLES that: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind, and no one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they had everything in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great favor was accorded them all. There was no needy person among them...." (Acts 4:32-35), now that is a Church we can believe in! But are we willing to BE CHURCH?

Oftentimes, those who doubt are the ones who truly want to believe. Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!

In Mark 9:17-29, Jesus is approached by a man whose son was possessed by a demon: "Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth.

Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”

Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up.

When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive it out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer and fasting.”

Let us pray and fast that all those who feel lost and alienated and have wandered away from Christ's church community may find Christ's merciful presence once again in his disciples, as Jesus has called us to be His Body here on earth.

May the Church of Christ be as Christ the Good Shepherd and mercifully seek and fnd the lost sheep and restore them to the fold.

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us!