- 1st Reading – Isaiah 66:18-21
- 2nd Reading – Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
- Gospel – Luke 13:22-30
The 1st reading from Isaiah shows us a great vision of how universal salvation is. A vision of people from all times, from all walks of life are included in the universal kingdom of God. God wants all men to be saved but unfortunately many will not be saved because of their unwillingness to cooperate with God’s will.
In the Gospel, someone asks Jesus about the number of people who will be saved. Jesus doesn’t answer the question directly. He leaves that a mystery, the number shouldn’t matter to us. Jesus is telling us that our chief concern should be whether we ourselves merit entering the Kingdom of God. Jesus shows the way to everyone, but it depends on each one of us individually whether we will follow Him on the road that leads to the Kingdom of God.
In order to be saved, it’s not enough to just belong to a certain group of class of people. It’s not enough to be a member of the Church founded by Christ. In order to be saved, it’s necessary to believe in Christ and His teachings, and to put into practice and live by those teachings.
The parable about the master of the house who locks the door is a warning to all sinners, that God will do the same unless they report and follow Christ.
The door to heaven is indeed narrow. The question is how many of us choose our own paths through life and how many of us follow in Christ’s footsteps leading through that narrow door.