Luke 13 22-30 2004
Pentecost 14
Luke 13:22-30
September 5, 2004
“The Narrow Way”
Introduction: The cupboard is bare; no food at all, not even the last can of your least favorite soup. You can’t believe you have been so unprepared. How could you have let this happen? It’s impossible you think. So you venture out. But today is the most special day of the year. All the groceries are closed, matter of fact, everything is closed. Nothing is open, that is, except one special restaurant. You’re hungry, so of course you head to the only place that has food. As you arrive at the restaurant you notice lines of people waiting to get in. Your hungry enough, you are willing to stand in line too. As you are about to enter the restaurant, the hostess asks for your name. You give it to her, but as she looks over her list she doesn’t find it and asks you if you made a reservation. Of course you didn’t. And of course she couldn’t…let you in that is. Sorry there are no exceptions. It is enough for a hungry person to weep and gnash their teeth. It seems like this kind of thing could never happen. Our Lord tells us differently, that it can and will happen for those who are not prepared. All people have been invited to the kingdom of God, but not all will enter.
Today it is not our intent to weep and gnash our teeth. Rather, as we hear Jesus teach about the Kingdom we are invited to believe, God has prepared “A place for you in His Kingdom.”
In our text, as Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem, journeying to the cross, a man asks a question. It is a question that many of us have wondered about too. The man asked, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” Of course, the thought behind the question is that it sure seems like only a few people will be saved. We can identify with this thought. Consider the lifestyles that are paraded before our eyes on television and in the movies. These are lifestyles that are not just un-Christian, they are anti-Christian Seldom are Christians portrayed in a credible manner. Normally they are portrayed as fanatics or people that have been misled by that old Christian religion. Often Christians are portrayed as simple minded and unenlightened. All the while those who flaunt their sexuality, immodesty, their new fangled spirituality are portrayed as enlightened free spirits of the times. Spiritual truths are cheapened and completely disconnected from God’s word of judgment and His promise of grace in Jesus Christ.
Sadly it seems as though even in the church, not many are being saved. The average Sunday worship attendance in most churches is less than 50% of their membership. Each year many people simply stop going to church. There are many reasons for this. One reason is a rejection of what has always been taught by the Church of Christ. Many people are leaving the Christian faith and substituting their own beliefs not founded on the Word of God, and through which there is no salvation. As an example of this there was a recent letter to the editor of Time Magazine regarding the decline of Christianity in America. It reads… Faith like this will not lead to world peace and it definitely does not lead to peace with God. As many churches respond to such people they have begun to water down the faith. We may wonder if the American churches will go the way of many European churches, becoming shells of Christianity.
Lest we become discouraged, Jesus experienced such seemingly unsuccessful results in his earthly ministry. The religious leaders were opposed to Him. His band of brothers, the disciples, remained small and often did not understand what He was teaching or what He was about to do in Jerusalem. Even when He reached Jerusalem, He was greeted at first with praise but then He was left abandoned before His enemies.
Sadly, as our Lord points out, there are those who will be excluded from the kingdom of God. Jesus says that many will seek entrance, but be left outside. It will be a tragic shock to those excluded. These are the ones that never received what Jesus had to offer, forgiveness and the way into the kingdom, which is faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross, His life given for theirs. As our Lord said, some will say, “We ate and drank with you, “You taught in our streets” Our Lord’s reply is, “I never knew you.” More than a casual acquaintance with the Lord of Life is necessary to enter in through the narrow way. A close encounter with God or a chance brush with the Divine does not secure a place for one in the kingdom of God. Simply parking our bodies in a church pew or doing religious things does not make us fit for the kingdom of God. As the saying goes,” You can warm your socks in the oven, but that doesn’t make them into biscuits.”
We are invited, however, to enter into the kingdom of God. He wants us to enter. He wishes all people to be saved. That is why He sent His Son into the world, to open the narrow way of the cross. That is why He has given us His Word through which the Holy Spirit works to create faith in our hearts. We hear the call of our Lord to make every effort to enter through the narrow door of life. What is this effort that Jesus speaks about? It is none other than that we daily confess our sins and acknowledge God’s forgiveness for the sake of Jesus and His death on the cross. What is the effort then? It is the Holy Spirit guided struggle against our flesh and the devil that would turn us to neglect, take for granted, this wonderful free gift that we have been given. Remembering our Baptism where the Holy Spirit claimed us as redeemed children of God, holding close to God’s Word, strengthened by His Sacrament, our Lord preserves us in the true faith, a faith that gives peace with God and eternal life. This humble faith acknowledges that we enter the kingdom of God only by grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
God invites us to know Him and to be known by Him. God brings us into a relationship with Himself. That is why Jesus Christ came into the world. That is why Jesus ate and drank with people and taught in their streets. He came near to us so that we might truly know Him as our Savior. We can be known by God for even though he knows all about us, the darkness in our lives, our hidden sinfulness, He loves us and invites us into His kingdom. He alone provides the way
A couple of weeks ago my parents were visiting some close friends in upper Michigan. My aunt and uncle went along with them. While they were there they had the opportunity to see the President of the United States. My parent’s friends are very involved in the Republican Party and as a result were able to get tickets…very good tickets. They would be able to stand almost face to face with the president. Unfortunately my parents friends were only able to get four tickets, two of which they kept for themselves and two that they gave to my parents. My aunt and uncle were left out in the crowd. Or they would have been left out had it not been for the resourcefulness of my mother and father. As my mother and father were entering the restricted area they exuberantly waved their admission badges to the sea of secret servicemen that flowed all around them. As they did this my aunt and uncle huddled close to them following them right into the presence of the president. My parents snuck my aunt and uncle in to see the president. Talk about the narrow door, I only wonder if this is some kind of federal crime or something.
This story illustrates our entry into the narrow door of heaven. None of us has tickets. None of us can purchase them. None of us deserve them. Yet our Lord Jesus wants us to gain access to His Father. So He bids us to follow Him, to walk closely with Him. The gate of heaven is open to Him alone and it is open to us through Him. The badge Christ waves to gain entry for us is the badge of His cross. As we enter we will see God face to face, to know Him as we have been known by Him. We will delight in the presence of the King of kings. What joy it is to know that God, through His Son Jesus Christ, has prepared a place for you and me in His kingdom. Amen.