Coffee With God

Reflection: Luke 13: 22-30

Luke continued to use the image of journey to Jerusalem for his reflection on the spiritual journey of the disciple of Jesus. Here he presents a question and brings out a deeper teaching from Jesus. “Are there only a few who are saved?” It reflected the widespread notion of predestination of those who will ultimately be saved… And the religious leadership regarded themselves to be among the chosen ones. But Jesus uses the opportunity to present a deeper reflection on the life of the disciple. He calls on his disciples not follow the crowd nor to succumb to the popular ideologies. The path to follow is the path trod by Jesus himself, but unfortunately it remains quite unpopular and not many are willing to walk this way. Hence, the Lord says, It is a narrow door, which many will not be able to enter. In his advice to the disciples sent on mission, he told them to travel light, to trust in God, to possess only the minimum (Luke 10:1-12). The same approach should be carried on, to our way of living at all times. Discipleship is matter of letting go than of accumulating, of surrendering than of controlling, of learning to accept one’s powerlessness and helplessness before God than of trying to look good and to be in a position of strength to bargain. What mattered for Jesus was that disciples truly listen to him, shape their lives according to his values and learn to love. Salvation was certainly not a factor of ethnic or religious identity. Luke wanted to tell his community, that calling themselves Christians was no guarantee for their obtaining God’s salvation. It required that they truly walk the path shown by Christ – the path of the Gospel – the narrow door. Anything else served only to inflate the self-image and make entry through the narrow doorway impossible. “Weeping and gnashing of teeth” was not a description of the life after death, rather it was a poetic expression to stress the importance and urgency of the issues at stake. Choose life when you still have the chance to choose it. Because there will be a time, when you have no more chances left. “Some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.” The message may have been particularly reassuring for Luke’s community of Gentile converts. They were among those coming from east and west, from north and south. They were the latecomers. The message is true for us too. It is never late to turn to God and to his saving grace.