And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try
to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has gone inside and locked
the door, you will stand outside. Then you will knock at the door, calling, ‘Lord, open to us!’
But he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and
drank with you, and you taught in our streets!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come
from. Away from me, all you workers of evil.’ You will weep and grind your teeth, when you see
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves
left outside. Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west,
from north and south. Some who are amongthe last, will be first; and some who are among
the first, will be last!”
Reflect
“The narrow door.” As followers of Jesus, we are called to participate in God’s
salvific act by aligning our life to a life worthy of Jesus’ disciple. Today’s Gospel speaks of the
“narrow door” (stenēs thuras) and of the teaching of Jesus concerning salvation. There is
another parallel expression – the “narrow gate” (stenēs pylēs) found in Matthew 7:13-14. On
the one hand, the narrow gate in Matthew is contrasted with the gate that is wide (plateia hē
pylē, “wide is the gate”). This gate, leading to destruction, is taken by many while the
narrow gate that leads to life are taken only by a few. On the other hand, in today’s
Gospel, the narrow door is not contrasted with the wide gate. Luke tells us that many actually
would attempt to enter it but will not be strong enough to do so. This implies that many will
be inspired to follow Jesus but would not succeed because of the demands of discipleship.
As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to a changed life and have it sustained to the best of our
ability. Should one be saved and be an instrument of salvation for others, our
changed life must continually give witness to a sustained appropriate lifestyle.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024
