Homily, 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: Is 66:18-21; Heb. 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk 13:22-30

A pastor once said in church, “Everyone who wants to go to heaven stand up!” and the whole church stood up. And he said, “And those who want to go to hell, remain standing!” At the back of the church, old Jack remained standing.  The pastor said, “Jack do you want to go to hell?” Jack said, “No, Father… I just hate to see you go there all by yourself!” 

Apart from politics, relationships, sports and social justice issues, people never stop raising the question the person in the Gospel asks Jesus. “Will only a few people be saved?’ Will some end up weeping and grinding their teeth forever? Are there some for whom prayer didn’t work? It’s quite common for us to wonder about salvation, to wonder who’s going to go to heaven!

In today’s Gospel passage, Luke tells us about the door policy of the kingdom of God, and how there is no such thing as automatic membership. Rather than speculate about the arithmetic of salvation, Jesus gives practical advice about the present time. He says, “Strive to enter through the narrow door, because I tell you many will attempt to enter and will not succeed”. If we are going to enter the kingdom of God, we must do so with a conscious and purposeful choice. We cannot stroll into the kingdom holding onto someone else’s coat tails. We cannot enter the kingdom on someone else’s merit. We must assume personal responsibility.

And we are told the door will not remain open indefinitely. When locking-up time comes and the master of the house has secured the door, those who missed their opportunity will not be admitted. The image changes from tight space to time up. Those who wait until the door is shut, try knocking but the householder regards them as ‘strangers’. These latecomers try to remind the householder of common ties; ‘we ate and drank with you, we listened to you teaching in our streets’. But as the gospel narrates, the Lord is not too impressed with superficial acquaintance: people who eat and drink in the same restaurants and bars, read the same papers, and watch the same programs, do not necessarily share the same commitments. Camp followers are not disciples!

So, what is the message for us today? The Church is reminding us of three things: First, that heaven exists. This is the banquet in the Kingdom of God, the way Jesus describes salvation and eternal life. Second, that hell exists. This is what is outside that banquet, where there is "wailing and grinding of teeth" - images of the hopeless frustration that the human soul experiences when it is cut off forever from friendship with God. And third, that in order to make our way to heaven, we must keep on doing our part. Salvation is the lived experience of our loving relationship with God; and relationships are two-way: God loving us; we, loving God. 

Friendship always involves effort, self-sacrifice, and the investment of time and energy, the same thing goes for our friendship with Christ. Our daily actions and lived reality will determine whether we can enter through the narrow gate. To do so we must leave behind all our excess baggage – our wrong attitudes, our close-mindedness – our hard-heartedness – our agenda. In short, anything that keeps us from living the Gospel – and loving God and others in a Christ-like way!

Safety is almost an obsession nowadays. We have our savings. We pay our social security. We insure everything- our cars, our homes, our lives, and we buckle our safety belts faithfully! “Better safe than sorry”. But what about our ultimate safety, our eternal salvation? It gives you an unpleasant feeling if you miss your appointment or miss the train, or airplane. And your feeling is even more miserable if you know that it was your own fault because you wasted time doing unnecessary things that could have been done later.

The bottom line: Cultivate self-discipline – focus on our discipleship - feeling entitled won’t get us into the kingdom!