Word to the Wise
Wednesday, October 26, 2022 - Wednesday in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time
[Eph 6:1-9 and Luke 13:22-30]Someone asked Jesus, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough." [Luke]
Years ago, in one of my campus ministry assignments, I was invited to address a group known as "Intervarsity," a fairly evangelical and mostly Protestant student organization. A few of my own student parishioners were involved, however, and I suspect they initiated the invitation. I decided to speak to the subject of "spirituality." When I finished speaking and opened the floor to questions, however, all the questions went to the subject of "Who can be saved?"
The history of Christianity is full of movements and opinions about who is "in" and who is "out." From the outset, there were sincere people who believed that only those who were devout Jews could be Christians. Jesus' never preached that. There were (and still are) those who believe that only explicit faith in Jesus as God incarnate qualifies one for "salvation." There are others in our own Catholic church who believe that only Catholics will be "saved." There are Protestant folks who believe that only their particular community will qualify.
In the end, God alone saves. Jesus rejected human religious smugness (and there IS a Catholic variety of this) of the kind in today's gospel passage - "We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets!." We are called to be faithful and loving. Our wonderful Catholic tradition is the result of human efforts to be faithful to Jesus' teachings. We have been challenged by Pope Francis to be "missionary disciples." But it is not OUR job to decide who will or won't be saved. The Sermon on the Mount and the parable of the Last Judgment in the Gospel According to Matthew (Matt. 5-7 and 25:31-45) give us the standards. St. John of the Cross really put it well when he wrote: "In the evening of life, what we shall be judged on is love." The "narrow gate" is open to anyone who is strong enough to pass through it! AMEN