Finding Deeper Understanding of Scripture

08-21-2016Weekly Reflection

"Behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." For Jesus' original audience, this reference was meant for those Jews who presumed their salvation while judging others as being unworthy of entering the kingdom of God. Jesus was always quick to teach that believing in him was what mattered, not membership in a certain class or a particular religious circle. Therefore, some of the (last) Gentiles who professed faith in Jesus were ready to enter the kingdom before some of the (first) Jews who rejected the Messiah.

But we should not assume that this Gospel was only for those people in that time and place. Today, there is perhaps a different stratum of first and last. In our Christian era, we can be tempted to have the same presumptuous attitude that afflicted too many of the Jewish contemporaries of Christ. We can think that our salvation is assured just because we bear the title Christian. Likewise, we can fall prey to the idea that we are somehow better or more deserving of Christ's mercy than those who do not "belong" to our Church. This simply isn't true. God's mercy is available to everyone who humbly recognizes one's need for it. The minute we become complacent or overconfident, we close ourselves off to the gift of mercy God offers to the repentant sinner.

Jesus tells us today that we must "strive to enter through the narrow gate." This means that we must not take the easy road of presumption, assuming that we are in good shape because we look like most of the people around us. On the contrary, Jesus calls us to take the more challenging road of real repentance in order to "recline at table in the kingdom of God."

BACK TO LIST