August 24, 2025
Luke 13:22 – 30
Collect
“O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.”
Our readings today describe God’s vision, desire and purpose for our world and show us where history is ultimately headed. In Jesus’ words “people will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” And through Isaiah, “The Lord says I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory”. I am certain that this desire of God resonates deep in our own hearts as every day we see the pain, horror and tragedy in so many parts of our world which seems so far from this desire and vision of God. We ache to find ways to make some difference. We hear in the Collect of Liturgy today that it is our God who is the one “who cause(s) the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose … to desire what (God) promises.” God does not act without us! It is God who puts that purpose and desire within us.
Teilhard de Chardin saw humans as partners with God, as the conscious part of God’s vision helping to bring the universe to its ultimate realization in Christ. Through creativity, love, and striving for unity, people contribute to the unfolding of God’s glory, God’s kingdom, to the Omega Point.
We hear in the Gospel that the path to salvation (Omega, freedom, fullness of life) is through the “narrow door.” Jesus is that door. He himself said, when Thomas asked the way to the kingdom, “I am the way, the truth, the life.” It’s not an easy path. Jesus acknowledges this when he says “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” One must strive, stay focused. It requires actively seeking him and embodying his teaching which also requires humility, courage, and conscious decisions. Throughout the Gospels Jesus shows what this narrow door looks like; love your enemies, welcome all in your home and your heart, forgive all, seek the lost, speak the truth with love, and so much more. It is not easy to enter the narrow door. It may be a tight squeeze and may be painful but we know that if we keep looking and listening to Jesus we are united in that single purpose, participating with God “to gather all at the table in the kingdom of God.” What kinds of challenges and choices do we face, as individuals and as communities “amid the uncertainties of our world” to bring God’s dream closer to reality?
To stay the course on this mission there is another dimension to understanding the meaning of the “narrow gate” that the mystics bring to our attention. We often focus on Jesus’ words and actions as the Way, rightfully so. However, his words and actions flowed from his interior being. The “narrow door” includes the inner journey to union with God and to inner transformation which opens our minds and our hearts to live more fully in the likeness of Christ. It is the path of deep contemplation. It is there that “amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found.”
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord
Meet Sister Mary Boretti, SNDdeN
