There is a tendency among some people who believe in a religion to feel that they are a privileged group, that they carry with them some cast-iron guarantee that their spiritual future is absolutely secure. The understanding of a “chosen people” is not really confined to the Jews. Even among Christians there are disagreements about who is chosen and on the right path. For us Catholics, the notion about “outside the Church there is no salvation” was a rallying cry for centuries and still is for a few today.
Perhaps this was what Jesus’ questioner had in mind when – in today’s Gospel passage –he asked, “Will there be only a few saved?” The question reflected the belief of many Jews in Jesus’ time that they and only they were God’s “Chosen People”.
And, as often happens, Jesus does not answer the question directly. Jesus speaks about coming in through a narrow gate and about a householder who refuses to open the door after he has locked up his home for the night. The fact that those knocking claim to be companions known to him does not make him change his mind. “You are late and I do not recognize you any longer.” Terrible words! Is this what we are saying to millions of immigrants today, and of those who have a different sexual orientation? Or, to Catholics who find themselves divorced and civilly remarried?
What Jesus does say is that salvation is not guaranteed for anyone. The statement “We are your people” will not be good enough. What Jesus is saying is that no one, no matter who they are, has an absolute guarantee of being saved. No one is saved by claiming identity with a particular group or by carrying a particular ID card or waving a baptismal certificate.
On the other hand, Jesus is not saying that only a few will be “saved” that only a selected few will be allowed to enter the kingdom of God. The whole thrust of the Gospels, and especially of the Gospel according to Luke, is that Jesus came to bring God’s love and freedom to the whole world. The message of the Gospel is that there is not a single person, not a single nation, race, or class, which is excluded from experiencing the love and liberation that God offers. God’s love is unconditional and ever present. It is our choice to be embrace that love, to be taken in by that love and then live as a disciple of Jesus knowing full well, as Pope Francis reminds us, that we are all sinners on a journey to salvation.
The primary role of our Catholic faith has never been simply to guarantee the “salvation” of its own members. It is not the function of the Church to turn all its energies in seeing that its members “save their souls.” The role of the Catholic Church from the beginning until now is, first and foremost, to proclaim to the world the Good News about God’s love for the world, to share the message of the Gospel about what it means to live for the common good in a civil society. The role of the Church is also to call for and support a conversion of hearts- a conversion in our lives—often time and time again.
So, it is not enough to simply proclaim the Good News–just handing out a catechism or even a Bible is not enough. Our whole lifestyle, individually and as a community of faith is to live the Good News to all those who hunger for a life of truth, of love, of justice; a life of compassion and mutual support; to live the Good News that brings an end to loneliness and marginalization, exploitation and manipulation… Is that a picture of the Catholic Church you belong to?
If it is, and I pray that it is, then I ask you to reflect on the readings this week as they pertain to immigrants, to those we marginalize because of their sexual orientation, of Catholics we have pushed aside.
To belong to the People of God, to belong to the Catholic community is, in many ways, a graced position. If we really belong to a community which shares and explains the Word of God in a way that helps us to understand the deeper meaning of life, if we find comfort and support – spiritual, emotional, and social – from that community of faith, then we are blessed indeed. But such a grace also carries with it a responsibility.
Our responsibility at this time and especially with national elections on the horizon, is to study and discern the teachings of the Church on these important issues. In this Year of Mercy, our Holy Father and our bishops are calling on us to embrace the corporal and spiritual works of mercy in every facet of our lives including our responsibility to participate in the political process for the common good. Yes, we are graced and yes that grace carries with it a great responsibility.
Jesus expresses this responsibility in a number of ways. The path to life is through a “narrow gate”. Now, some will argue God has created a “narrow gate” to salvation. But most theologians suggest that while God overflows with mercy, God also respects our freedom and won’t force mercy upon us. In other words, we, not God make that gate narrow by our lives. In terms of the Gospel, the doorway to life can be summed up in the word “love”. In one sense, love is an all-embracing word in both its figurative and literal meanings. Yet, to guide all of one’s actions by love is a choice that many are unable to make. Many find it extremely difficult and many simply reject it. They prefer to choose a different path that leads to hatred, resentment, jealousy, competitiveness and revenge.
How many of us can claim to have succeeded in walking the narrow way of unconditional love? It is very hard, beset with successes and failures. Yet, if we fail in love, what kind of Catholics are we? Do we deserve the final reward of our brothers and sisters as disciples of Jesus? What we must remember is that we, each of us, hold the key to the door of salvation. No amount of knocking will be of any use because the door we knock on is our own.
What Jesus is saying today is that some of us who regard ourselves as “Catholics” may find the door closed in our faces. We will hear those terrible words, “I do not know you”. Why? Because we did not recognize Jesus himself in all those people that we may have resented, used, exploited, manipulated, rejected, and trampled on.. As Jesus says, “As often as you failed to do it to the least of my brothers and sisters, you neglected to do it to me.”
So, when we do come face to face with God – and hopefully we will – we may be surprised at who is not there in the Kingdom. We may even be more surprised at those who are there. These people will be in the Kingdom because, whatever labels we gave them, they were at heart— loving, caring and sharing people, people who lived their lives for others as Jesus did. These people Jesus will recognize. Let us make sure that he will be able to recognize each of us, as well. Amen.