21st Sunday Ordinary Time

Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21, Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13, Luke 13:22-30

 Who will be saved? For most of us, that means who will be in heaven? Will you be or I’ll be in heaven? These are the kinds of questions that Jesus generally dislikes. Instead, Jesus invites us to follow Him. If we trust Him and follow Him, then we don’t get concerned about who will be saved. Our concern is simply to follow the Lord.

>In the first reading prophet Isaiah tells, that the lord comes to save everyone if possible. There is sometimes great controversy whether all people can be saved, but again, this seems to miss what Jesus concern is. Jesus seems only concerned whether you and I will follow Him. If someone doesn’t follow Him, that is not for us to judge.

 For some of us who are older, concern about salvation was an important motivating element in many lives. Today, perhaps, there is too little attention given to salvation. It really is not about salvation as an objective kind of reality, rather, it is about being a follower of Jesus and trying to live as he invites us to live.

This is link between the first reading and the Gospel. The challenge for you and for me is to follow the Lord, to be disciple of Jesus Christ. Perhaps in the past there was a huge emphasis put on the fear of hell- and that somewhat deformed the message of our loving Lord. Today, far too many people do not even think about a life after this one, much less about whether there are any requirements at all to live an eternal life.

 Jesus seems clear in the New Testament. Today’s Gospel tells us to try to use the narrow gate! We must strive to love God above all things, with all of our being. And we must strive to love our neighbour’s as ourselves.

Today, then, we are invited to reflect on eternal life and what it means for us. We are invited to think about salvation and what that might mean for us. We urged to begin to live the teachings of our Lord Jesus. Finally, we must spend some time praying about what it might mean to lose salvation and end up in hell. None of us like to think about that but it is one of the possible endings of our life. May the Lord draw us to Himself and give us courage to walk in His ways.