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August 24, 2019
Readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Will only a few be saved? Lk. 13:22-30. When we pray the rosary, often before a funeral, we pray the Fatima Prayer, “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of thy mercy.” I suppose it can cause some people to roll their eyes at Catholics who fear condemnation and hell. We all tend to be implicit universalists, that is we all believe we are going to heaven. We and, perhaps, everyone else. That is not Jesus. Today’s Gospel is a sobering teaching about salvation. Will many people be saved or few? It is a question with a lot of Jewish angst and argument behind it.
Who will be saved?
There appears to have been considerable debate in the time of Jesus concerning who would be part of God’s world to come. Would a “ Remnant[i]” be saved or would everyone who lived enter the world to come. Would God let all twelve tribes, ten of which are lost to history and the Assyrians, enter into the world that is coming? The Mishnah is a collection of rabbinic teachings that was composed in writing in the years following the New Testament, but appears to be based on historic Pharisaic discussions that lived before the time of Jesus. One of the things they debated was who will enter into the world that comes.
One part of the Mishnah, the Tractate Sanhedrin, 10:1 says,All Israelites have a share in the world to come, for it is written, “Thy people also shall be all righteous, they shall inherit the land for ever.... [Isa 60:21] And these are they that have no share in the world to come:*******
The people of the north were abandoned to Assyria because they turned to idol worship. Sodom and Gomorrah were evil people destroyed by fire. Noah’s generation was destroyed by the flood for their wickedness. Mere acquaintance with God is not enough. Did you notice how he put his audience into the parable? “you yourselves are cast out.” Lk. 13:28-30 You cannot presume on God.The generation of the Flood have no share in the world to come... The generation of the Dispersion have no share in the world to come... The men of Sodom have no share in the world to come... The generation of the wilderness have no share in the world to come... The Ten Tribes shall not return again.... So R. Akiba. But R. Eliezer says: Like as the day grows dark and then grows light, so also after darkness is fallen upon the Ten Tribes shall light hereafter shine upon them. [ii]
Isaiah, in today’s reading, speaks of the Remnant:
The Old Testament prophets taught that only a remnant will be saved. [iii]Thus says the LORD: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations ( the gentiles) of every language; they shall come and see my glory. … They shall bring all your brothers and sisters ( the lost ten tribes probably) from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels. Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD. Is. 66:18-21
How does Jesus answer the question?
As Jesus was heading for Jerusalem, a man asked him:
Jesus didn’t give a percentage. Disturbingly, he didn’t say all would enter. He did say, only the strong will make it through. Jesus’ answer is sober and in line with the Prophets who speak of a Remnant. The Lord then goes on to tell parables.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.” Lk. 13:22-24
Parables about the householder
Jesus often compares the kingdom to a banquet and he does so in today's Gospel. Imagine everyone trying to get in. The householder chases some away and they say,
These people know the householder and they ate a drank with him. Why doesn’t he know them? Because they were wicked. They did not listen to Moses, the Prophets or Jesus. In short, sin keeps them out of the kingdom of God.'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.” Lk. 13:25-30.
This is consistent with the Mishnah and the Prophets.“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Mt. 7:21
St. Paul and the Mission of the Church
Jesus reaffirms that the mission is to the lost of Israel, especially the ten tribes. That is the reason why he has twelve apostles to reconstitute the twelve tribes of Israel. St. Paul and the apostles always went first to the synagogues to preach the good news for this reason. They were sent to gather in God’s people. Why is Jesus the Messiah? Because he does what the Old Testament prophets said the Messiah would do. St. Paul thought that even the Jews who rejected Jesus would be gathered in some day. Here is what St. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans on this very subject:
The Church is a mission, not a club. What we do matters, for ourselves and others. The gate to enter into Eternal Life is a narrow gate. Many will try to enter, but will be unable to because it is a cross shaped gate.I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not become wise [in] your own estimation: a hardening has come upon Israel in part, until the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and thus all Israel will saved, as it is written: “The deliverer will come out of Zion, he will turn away godlessness from Jacob; and this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins. ” In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs. For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable. Rom. 11:25-29.
[i] “ REMNANT OF ISRAEL (Heb. שְׁאֵרִית יִשְׂרָאֵל), a term denoting the belief that the future of Israel would be assured by the faithful remnant surviving the calamities that would befall the people as a result of their departing from the way of God. On the one hand the prophets foretold the forthcoming exile and destruction of Israel, and on the other they held forth the hope and promise of its survival and eternity. The doctrine of the Surviving Remnant resolved this contradiction. The doctrine is referred to by most of the prophets. Thus Micah (2:12) states, "I will surely gather the remnant of Israel"; Jeremiah (23:3) "and I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries whither I have driven them and will bring them back to their folds, and they shall be fruitful and multiply." Joel promises, "For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape and among the remnant those whom the Lord shall call" (3:5), and the first half of the verse is repeated almost literally by Obadiah (v. 17).
It is in Isaiah, however, that the doctrine is found in its most developed form which greatly affected Israel's thoughts about the future. He gives his son the symbolic name Shear-Jashub ("a remnant shall return," 7:3) and in 10:22 the phrase is repeated as a statement of fact "a remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob." The most detailed description of the doctrine appears in 6:13. The land shall be utterly destroyed, the children of Israel will be "removed far away," only a tenth will remain – even that tenth "shall again be eaten up" but "the holy seed" shall remain. Isaiah's concept of the remnant may have included both the faithful minority and those who would accept God's message, under the impact of the forthcoming disaster. Paul applied Isaiah's teaching to the Church (Rom. 9:27).
In the daily prayers there are included the prayers "Guardian of Israel, Guard the Remnant of Israel, and suffer not Israel to perish." After World War II the phrase the "remnant which survives" ( she'erit ha-peletah) was applied to the survivors of the Holocaust.” (This is quoted from the Virtual Jewish Library, online. A great source for understanding Judaism.) BIBLIOGRAPHY: E. Jenni, in: IDB, 4 (1962), 32–33, incl. bibl.
[ii] Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10:1-3; trans. H. Danby (as quoted by Brant Pitre, online. This is a worthwhile subscription if you want to understand the Sunday mass readings.)
[iii] Who would be saved was a matter of concern for the prophets Isaiah Isaiah ( in addition to the above passage) 10:20-22, Isaiah 11:10-16 and Jeremiah 23:3-4. Jesus read and knew these books and was obviously aware of the controversy. That is the background for this man’s question.