Luke 13: 22-30

As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he taught the people in the towns and villages. Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

Jesus answered: “Do all you can to go in by the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and locks the door, you will be left standing outside. You will knock on the door and say, “Sir, open the door for us!”

But the owner will answer, “I don’t know a thing about you!”

Then you will start saying, “We dined with you, and you taught in our streets.”

But he will say, “I really don’t know who you are! Get away from me, you evil people!”

“Then when you have been thrown outside, you will weep and grit your teeth because you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s kingdom.

People will come from all directions and sit down to feast in God’s kingdom. There, the ones who are now least important will be the most important, and those who are now most important will be least important”.

Gospel Reflection

Jesus has spent most of Luke’s Gospel teaching us how to be disciples; we have the theory; we have sat and listened; we have been there whilst he was speaking. Perhaps we have not realised that there will be a ‘test’. That the test is the day-to-day living of our life.

The theory is not the answer; it simply gives us the method; we have to put words into practice. To get up from our place at the Master’s feet and walk the walk. It’s like piling the shelves up with self-help guides to health, happiness and love and never trying any of it because the time is not right; like buying a membership to a gym and promising ourselves to go ‘tomorrow’. The things that belong to ‘tomorrow’ are the very things that will weigh us down; distract us and stop us from being able to enter by the narrow door.

If we wish to cross the threshold we need something more than ‘we know how to do it- we just haven’t ever got round to it’. ‘Tomorrow’ sometimes has to become ‘today’.