Yesterday, we explored the possibility that we could be excluded from entering God’s Kingdom. St Luke goes on to vividly describe our anguish if we are not accepted. We would be devastated!
In another surprising twist in this week's passage, Jesus goes on to talk about radical inclusion. “People will come from east and
west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29) In other words, the “narrow door” is open to all who respond in faith to the call of discipleship.
The cross points to the east and west, as well as to the north and south. Jesus, in his supreme giving of himself, invites all, no matter where they come from, to join the feast in God’s Kingdom.
We like to feel that we are special. And indeed we are. Each one of us is uniquely created by God. God breathed life into us, filling us with the Spirit. God wants each one of us—“I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16). The words engraved, or as in other translations, carved, tattooed, denote a permanence to our place in the heart of God.
So, if I’m
so beloved by God, then surely every person on earth is considered the same by God. And this is the challenge. We so easily judge and condemn others because they are a little different. We shun people because they may have hurt us in the past, or we fear what they may do in the future.
Discipleship and entering the “narrow door” is not something I can do on my own. To be part of a community is to accept others as they are. By allowing
them to guide and assist me, living a life worthy of God can be made possible. And together we can sit at the feast.
Spend some time today revelling in the fact that your name is tattooed in the palm of God. Whose name is also there, that perhaps you never imagined could be there?
Reflections by Ursula van Nierop
