Our Path to Salvation

First Reading: Isaiah 66:18-21

"For I know their works and their thoughts, and I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Put, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their cereal offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.

And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD.

Psalm: Psalm 117:1-2

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons? -- "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.

Gospel:Luke 13:22-30

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, `Lord, open to us.' He will answer you, `I do not know where you come from.' Then you will begin to say, `We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.'

But he will say, `I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!' There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Reflection
By Mark Rodney P. Vertido 

A crucial thing for every Christian is the question of our salvation. In our growing years in the faith, we come to know about heaven and hell and our elders would always stress that we need to go to heaven. We need to attain salvation. Is salvation for real?

Like the one who asked the Lord if only a few will be saved, our curiosity asks who will be saved. And Jesus’ answer gives us an encouragement to strive to enter the narrow gate to salvation. Indeed, it is very hard to attain salvation yet Jesus had already paved the way for us when He died for us on the cross more than two thousand years ago.

This is one of the striking teachings that I have learned recently, the meaning of salvation. We are indeed being saved already by Christ and we call this as objective salvation. We were all saved by Christ for God willed it as a manifestation of His love to us.

“For God so love the world that He gave his only son and whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life,” says John 3:16, the most popular verse of the Bible. The first part of the text clearly shows how the love of God for us is manifested through Jesus Christ, who suffered for the world, our “sacrificial Victim.” Yet continuing the text it says that to attain eternal life or salvation, we need to believe in Him. We were saved through Christ yet this salvation is fully ours only if we become believers in His teaching. And the fullness of receiving Christ in our life is receiving wilfully the salvation that he has offered to us in the cross. Now, this is subjective salvation. We were saved yet the full attainment of salvation still depends on us whether we are accepting it or not.

Going back to the Gospel, Jesus tells His followers to “strive.” What does this mean? I believe that the path to salvation is a journey. It is both a journey of faith and action. As we take in the teachings of Christ and receive it, we grow in faith and understanding of the wisdom of God. But this inward growth does not end in there. Inwardness must extend outward through our actions, our works. Clearly, St. James would say: “faith without work is lame.”

We strive to grow in faith yet we strive to grow more in our action towards God and His people. Worship itself is an action towards God. As we worship and love God, God directs us to love our neighbors. These are the actions that God asks of us.

Accordingly, the Gospel teaches us that this “striving” needs to be consistent and persevering. That is why Jesus suddenly tries to illustrate salvation through the master and the sudden visitors who wants to get in the gate. We can see that if there is no consistency and perseverance in striving to enter the gates of salvation then the Master will not recognize us.

It is not enough that we just believe and be a member of the Church. It does not even guarantee that we will be saved already if we are a member of a religious denomination. Christians cannot boast that they are already saved even if they commit corruption and amass wealth from public funds in the government. If Christians were too perfect enough for salvation, then the concept of the state of hell will not be valid any more  Even Christians will be rejected by God if there is no consistency between faith and action.

Let us thank God in every way that we were Christians because for us the path to salvation is not already difficult. We only need to listen to God through the teachings of His Son. And we can fully listen and act upon the teachings of Jesus if we live up the Christian faith with the Church. 

I bid a short farewell to all for joining me for the last two months reflecting on the Sunday Gospels. I hope to share more things with you the soonest. But now I want to invite you to pray with me a very beautiful prayer that lets me focus on my journey every time that I feel I am not doing what I ought to do in “striving” to enter the Kingdom of God.

Prayer

The Quarter Hour Prayer

God, eternal truth,

We believe in you.

God, our strength and salvation,

We hope in you.

God, infinite goodness,

We love you with all our heart.

You have sent the Word as Savior of the world,

Make us all one in him.

Fill us with the Spirit of your Son,

That we may glorify your name. Amen.

St. Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word, wrote this brief prayer that one can say every 15 minutes. You are encouraged to pause awhile from whatever you are doing, pray this Quarter Hour Prayer to unite yourself with the Holy Spirit who gives the wisdom and strength to fulfill one's task.