Reading
Luke 13:22-30
22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”
He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
“But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’
27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’
28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”
Comment
The disciples' question about salvation highlights the contrast, in Judaism of that time, between the Pharisees, who argued that most Jews would be saved, and the apocalyptic circles, in which the opinion prevailed that few would be saved. Perhaps it is also aroused by the fact that the great multitudes who followed Jesus were reduced to a few faithful towards the end of his earthly ministry.
On the other hand, Jesus' message discourages the lukewarm (“whoever of you does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple”; Lk 14:33) and he himself affirms that narrow is the way and narrow is the door that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mt 7:14).
The words of Jesus recall the eschatological horizon when men will be judged not for the simple fact of "knowing him", but for their consistency and fidelity in carrying out the will of the Father. The entry into the kingdom of God of men coming from the four cardinal points of the world indicates the invitation of the pagans to the celestial banquet; a thought contrary to the rabbinic mentality of that time, but perfectly in keeping with the prophetic literature of the Old Testament (Ps 107:3; Is 66.18-19; Mal 1:11).
The image of the goodness of God, who does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone has time to repent (2 Pt 3:9) is not clouded by the severe words of Jesus, which are an invitation to conversion. Man is called to make responsible use of his freedom, in relation to his eternal destiny.
Prayer
Guide us, o Lord, along the way back to you, and refresh us with your Spirit in our strenuous pace; so that we may find rest in the banquet you have prepared for the redeemed. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
