Today’s Gospel Reading: Luke 13:19-29 - The Lord said this
parable, "The kingdom of God is like a grain of mustard seed which a man
took and sowed in his garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of
the air made nests in its branches." And again he said, "To what shall
I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven which a woman took and hid in
three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." 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."
It always amazes me when confronted with the notion that the
Christian life is the narrow path, many will accuse the Church of judging and
trying to control people. But with the words we read today in the Gospel of
Luke, Christ made perfectly clear that entering into heaven is reserved for
those who choose the narrow path rather than the broad avenues of the world.
Something to think about in the final days of the Nativity fast.
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