Who will be saved?

One time, a preacher of one religious sect came to my lola’s house. He chanced upon my uncle who was there to visit. The preacher began his discourse on the Scriptures, and salvation, and how the Good Book hints that only the believers of their sect would be saved. My uncle, who was innately pilosopo, and also very much informed of the Scriptures, asked him, “Does not the Bible say in Revelations that only 144,000 will be gathered into the Kingdom of God (see Rev 7, 1-8)? How many are you in your sect? Do not the leaders and elders alone account to already 144,000 ? Does that mean that you will not be saved?”. With the table now turned, the man discretely bade goodbye, and promised to come by again soon. For the next few weeks, my uncle frequented my lola’s house. The preacher never returned.

The man’s question to Jesus in today’s Gospel (Lk 13, 22-30) is a valid one – “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”. It was like asking, “how many Lord, will be saved?” The answer of Jesus was enlightening and essential – “The door is narrow. Concern yourself instead with how you can save your own soul.”

The Lord directs the man to the fundamental question – “Do you think you will be saved?” – and task – “Do your best to enter the narrow door.” He proceeds to correct the wrong notion of the Jews that only Jews will be saved, and then he teaches what to do to be saved.

Salvation is never a privilege attached to birth, nationality, affiliation or position. The Jews who were in the Old Testament the Chosen People of God are not automatically saved. Affiliation or membership in the Catholic Church or a Christian Church, or any religious community does not guarantee being saved. Yes, Baptism as a Christian or a Catholic gives us all the helps, but only the helps. One may not just sit on the blessing of being one, and the availability of helps. God wills that all men and women be saved, and he provides a whole lot of helps to this, but each must cooperate with his grace.

We are called to instead become who we are. We are called to be Christians every minute of our lives – yes, every minute, even, every second, amidst all the difficulty and challenge. And of course, the Christian calling is love – for God, for ourselves, for others, especially the least, the lost and the last. And this is not easy – heaven’s door is narrow. To love God is to say yes to goodness and no to wrongdoing; to love ourselves is to stay in grace and avoid sin; to love others is to be compassionate to them, to forgive them when they sin, to guide them when they stray, to help them in their need. But sometimes it is easier to do wrong than do good. Sometimes it is easier not to forgive, not to help, not to accept people; sometimes it is much easier to stay in an immoral relationship, or to stay in a corrupt system, or to cooperate with, or do nothing in the face of a wrongdoing.

Not even nuns, or priests, or bishops could sit complacently. All of us are called to struggle to love. It is not membership, not even position in the Church that could guarantee our salvation.

A man died and was ushered in to the 4th heaven. He was surprised to see there the nun who instructed her in catechism when he had first communion. He told the nun, "Sister, how could you be here? You should be in the seventh heaven." The nun was quick to reply, "Quiet, lower your voice. Remember the priest who used to preside the masses we attended? He is at the second."

St. John of the Cross said it well: "When the evening of life comes, we shall be judged on love."

Have a blessed Sunday.