Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s Gospel starts out somewhat problematically. An unidentified person asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
Jesus doesn’t give a direct answer to this. But by what he says, one could surmise that he affirms that only a few people will be saved. “Many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” And then he illustrates this by describing someone who has already gone to bed and doesn’t want to be disturbed by anyone else. In fact, this “master of the house” describes those knocking as “evildoers.”
Admittedly, this is baffling. In fact, just a few words later, Jesus will say that “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.”
In addition, the author of the Book of Revelation will say, “After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9).
Probably we should understand this as a warning against complacency. We shouldn’t become proud if we have been successful in leading a good life. Humility is always required. We have to strive to enter by the narrow door. We do that by following Jesus and doing the will of God.
In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, we find a variation on this theme. Jesus says: “Enter through the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14).
How do we enter through the narrow gate? By listening to God’s words and following them. “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock” (Matthew 7: 24-25).
Reflection by Archbishop Jerome Hanus, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections