October 29, 2025 – Wednesday of the 30th week
Romans 8:26-30; Luke 13:22-30;
H O M E L Y
If you don't mind, we will first focus on analyzing the meaning of several expressions in this passage from the Gospel of Luke, and then see how this message applies to us as well.
Luke sets this story during Jesus' journey to Jerusalem. He does not yet concern himself with emphasizing the importance of Jerusalem. Rather, he insists on the fact that Jesus is on His way. Jesus has nowhere to stay; He is no longer welcome in the synagogues. So He preaches His message in the public squares of towns and villages.
It is at this point that someone asks Him the question about the number of the elect. The question is: "Lord, will only a few people be saved? ‘ Obviously, we understand this question in a future perspective, in terms of eternal salvation. ’Will many go to heaven?‘ But this is not the primary meaning of the text. The Greek text of Luke, translated literally, simply says: ’Are there few who are saved (oi sôzómenoi)? ‘ The question is in the present tense, not the future.
In Luke's Gospel, ’to be saved‘ always means ’to be part of the community of Jesus‘. Thus, for example, in the Acts of the Apostles, Luke says that "The Lord added to the community those who were being saved (tous sôzoménous)" (Acts 2:47). The fundamental question is whether salvation is reserved for a small group of privileged people, in this case the people of Israel, or whether it is open to the masses.
As is often the case, Jesus responds to something other than what He is asked. The question was about ‘how many’; His answer will be about ‘how’. The overall meaning of Jesus' answer is that with His own death and resurrection, everything will be changed. This is symbolically signified by the expression ‘when the master of the house has risen and shut the door’. From now on, Jews and Gentiles are on an equal footing. Being saved (here on earth and for eternity) does not depend on belonging to a privileged nation, group or institution. It depends on how each person lives.
Jesus' answer begins with the word ‘strive’. – ‘Strive to enter through the narrow gate’. Unfortunately, the expression ‘strive’ has lost all its force in our everyday language. We say to someone, ‘strive to arrive on time,’ ‘strive to understand,’ ‘strive to be kind.’ This does not generally imply a great deal of effort. In reality, the expression used by Luke (agonízesthe) is much stronger. It could be translated as: ‘struggle, force yourselves, to push your way through the narrow gate’. It is a question of forcing oneself, as in Jesus' other saying that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and only the violent will conquer it.
Many, says Jesus, will receive from the Master of the house, that is, from Himself, the Risen One (when He ‘has risen’), the answer : ‘I do not know where you are from’. The reason for this harsh response is explained: ‘Depart from me, you who practice injustice’ . The essential condition for belonging to the community of Jesus is to practice love and justice towards one's neighbor. Anyone who practices injustice (in the sense understood by all the great prophets of Israel) cuts themselves off from the community of believers and therefore cuts themselves off from Christ. This is exactly the same message as in chapter 25 of Matthew: ‘I was hungry and you gave me food... or... I was hungry and you did not give me food’.
The lesson for each of us is clear and can be summed up in a few words. We are privileged. We have received the gift of faith; we belong to the Church; some of us belong to a monastic community; we are all gathered here in a large liturgical community to celebrate this Eucharist. These are all gifts we have received, all means given to us to live according to the Gospel of Jesus. But none of this assures us of salvation. The condition for being saved—that is, for truly being part of the ‘community of Jesus’—is to ‘practice justice,’ that is, to conform our whole life to the two commandments that are one: the commandment to love God and our neighbor.
Armand Veilleux