Luke 13:22-30

Isaiah 66:18-21

Psalm 117:1, 2

Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,

teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.

Someone asked him,

“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”

He answered them,

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,

for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter

but will not be strong enough.

After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,

then will you stand outside knocking and saying,

‘Lord, open the door for us.’

He will say to you in reply,

‘I do not know where you are from.

And you will say,

‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’

Then he will say to you,

‘I do not know where you are from.

Depart from me, all you evildoers!’

And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth

when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

and all the prophets in the kingdom of God

and you yourselves cast out.

And people will come from the east and the west

and from the north and the south

and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.

For behold, some are last who will be first,

and some are first who will be last.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, thank you for inviting me to recline at table at the Eucharistic feast you have prepared. Guide me along the path that leads to the narrow gate and help me through it. Open the doors of eternal life to me and bring me to my heavenly home with you.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Banquet in the Kingdom: One of the images found in the prophet Isaiah is that of the eschatological banquet. Jesus alludes to Isaiah in today’s Gospel. Isaiah 11:12 reads: “He will … assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 25:6-8 envisions a banquet “on Mount Zion to which the entire world is invited. The Lord is the host of this eschatological feast, which is a grand celebration of his kingship” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1202). This means that one day, the Lord will gather the exiled children of Israel from the four corners of the earth for a banquet. This banquet will include Israelites and Gentiles in the one family of God (see Luke 24:47; Revelation 5:9). This banquet comes to fulfillment in the Eucharist, and yet awaits its ultimate fulfillment in heaven. The Eucharist is the foretaste of the heavenly banquet, and we have come from many different nations and peoples to celebrate with the Lord. 

2. From All the Nations: In the First Reading, we read from the final chapter of the prophet Isaiah. It is Isaiah’s vision of the new heavens and the new earth. “The Lord will gather all nations to Mount Zion and reveal his glory to them. This grand event is expected to take place in stages: (1) The Lord makes an initial gathering of peoples of different nationalities and languages (Isaiah 66:18); (2) he sends out some of them to declare his glory in distant lands (Isaiah 66:19); (3) the messengers return home bringing the exiles of Israel back from the nations to which they were scattered (Isaiah 66:20); and (4) God chooses priests and ministers of worship from the assembled multitude (Isaiah 66:21)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1260). The last point was revolutionary. Under the Mosaic covenant, the priesthood was a hereditary ministry confined to the family line of Aaron. Isaiah looks beyond this to the new covenant when the Lord will choose priests from Israel and the Gentiles. On the one hand, this comes to fulfillment in the priesthood of all believers in Christ (1 Peter 2:9). On the other, it comes to fulfillment in the ministerial priesthood of the apostles, their successors, and their co-workers (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 1260).

3. Disciplining Children and Racing to Heaven: In the Second Reading, the Letter to the Hebrews uses two images to speak about our Christian lives. The Letter has already encouraged its readers to be faithful, following the example of the martyrs who have gone before us. Now, it challenges them to persevere through suffering. The first image is that of a parent disciplining their child. The Letter cites Proverbs 3:11-12, which holds that divine discipline is inspired by divine love. “Without this wisdom, one might mistake the trials of life … for signs of God’s anger hammering down on every fault and failure. On the contrary, God is a wise and caring Father who desires only to make his children better. It is because he loves them too much to overlook their sins and selfishness that he sends difficulties to train them in righteousness and to raise them to spiritual adulthood. In point of fact, the sons of God are being forged in the image of God the Son, who ‘learned obedience through what he suffered’ (Hebrews 5:8)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, 2174). The second image is that of a race. Readers need to lift their drooping hands, strengthen their weak knees, and run straight to the finish line.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have run the race and finished it. I look up to you and desire your guidance. Guide me as I train, as I condition, and as I run. May I be crowned like you with the green laurels of eternal life!

Living the Word of God: When I contemplate and meditate on my life in prayer, how do I see it? As a race toward heaven? How is it going? As a time of maturation? How has God disciplined me? What trials and tribulations has he permitted? How have they formed and shaped me as a Christian?