Luke 13:22-30
Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.”
These words from Luke often put me in mind of a fairly standard motif in story telling. A heroine makes a lengthy and treacherous journey, often by night and in pouring rain, and finds herself standing in front of a door that she hopes will be opened to her. It is the grimmest of outcomes if she isn’t recognised and the door closes in her face. She may try again. The reader hopes for a change of heart. I can very easily put myself in the position of the heroine.
Today’s Gospel offers both a narrow door and a door that isn’t going to be opened. What are we to make of these challenging words and images ? I draw back from ideas and systems that seem to exclude. Monastic life has taught me many things, not least that everyone deserves a chance.
As with many of the more difficult parables and incidents in the Gospels it is sometimes helpful to stand back and see the bigger picture. Biblical scholars see particular divisions and patterns in the way in which Luke organises his Gospel. Ch 9:51-19:44 forms a unit and is known as ‘Journey’ section of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus is resolutely journeying to Jerusalem and ‘he sets his face like flint’ (Is 50.7). Nothing will deter him. This lengthy unit is about the reality of discipleship and the resolve you will need if you are to walk this road. Scholars see a series of themes that build towards and away from the central text of today’s Gospel, Luke 13:22-30. Over the past weeks in our Sunday liturgy we have been encouraged to set out, taking nothing for the journey and relying on God alone. We have been invited to hear God’s word within us, to relinquish possessions and status and we’ve even been faced with the possibility of division in our families if we follow Christ.
So by this stage, if we have stayed the course, our resolve is well and truly strengthened. And now Jesus asks us to lay aside our own value systems. We must lay aside own understanding of who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’. We must lay aside our understanding of who can expect a door to opened and who can’t. The values of the Kingdom involve an upturning of everything we thought we knew. Daunting as this may be, Jesus is our model.
We trace his steps as he walked to Jerusalem. With each step we learn the values of the kingdom. In suffering and in glory we learn the path of discipleship.
How can you choose the Kingdom this week?