4th Monday of Lent (March 31). STRIVE TO ENTER

Prepare to Listen.  I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 13:22-30
22Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.  23Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’  He said to them,
24‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.  25When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us”, then in reply he will say to you, “I do not know where you come from.”  26Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.”  27But he will say, “I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!”  28There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.  29Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.  30Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.’
 
Prayerfully Wonder and Reflect
‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’  Have you ever wondered about this?  Tell that story.
 
As Jesus made his way to Jerusalem and the cross, someone asked if only a few will be saved.  Why ask about only a few rather than how many?  Or why not ask who will be saved?  What did this someone want to know?  Whatever it was, Jesus didn’t give a direct answer.  Per usual, he refused to pander to the inquisitiveness of his questioner.  It’s as though he said, ‘It’s none of your business.’  Which it isn’t.  Instead, Jesus gave a stern warning.
 
He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.”  Don’t assume you’re in, have your ticket because you’re a child of Abraham, or because you ate and drank with Jesus while he taught in your streets.  It’s an alarming warning, suggesting that the answer to the question about only a few is, ‘Yes!’  But that would be a wrong conclusion.  In two earlier parables Jesus compared the kingdom of God to a mustard seed that grew in size to host many, and to yeast that infiltrates the entire dough.[1]  In other words, the kingdom is big enough to include everyone, not merely a few, something Jesus’ audience of religious rulers refused to accept.  But, as Wright notes, “The door isn’t very wide, and it will take energy and commitment to get in; no question of strolling in by chance.”[2]  It’s a demanding way that requires discipline and commitment, therefore strive to enter in this life now, not after death.
 
What do you need to do to daily strive to enter through the narrow door?
 
Prayerfully Respond
Lord, forgive me when I take my salvation for granted and fail to practice the discipline and commitment required to fully embrace and then live your kingdom values.  Amen.
 
Live obediently.  Strive to enter.
[1] Luke 13:18-21.
[2] Wright, N. T.  Luke for Everyone.  Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.  2001, p. 169.