Daily Gospel Reflection
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October 27, 2021
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.”
Many of us have heard the aphorism “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” It emphasizes the impact personal connections can have in helping someone achieve his or her desired outcomes. I have found this saying to ring true: personal relationships have helped me find jobs, find a house in a new state where there were none on the market, and even find our latest dog during the height of the COVID-19 shelter shortage.
Today’s gospel calls to mind this adage for me as well. Jesus paints a vivid and frightening picture of our need to “strive to enter the narrow gate” to get to heaven and what happens to those who do not. However, the most surprising element in this parable is that the narrow gate is not a what but a who.
The evangelist Luke doesn’t tell us who asked Jesus about salvation. A good guess would be a Pharisee—the very next verse in Luke’s Gospel mentions a group of them coming to Jesus at that time.
The Pharisees were experts in the law and Jewish tradition. They knew the what, but they did not know Jesus as the Son of God—the vital who. Jesus makes it clear that he is the narrow gate in John’s Gospel (10:9) when he declares, “I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved…”
The great news of this parable for us is that the people who know Jesus, regardless of what we know or what corner of the globe we come from, will “recline at table” with him in the kingdom of God.
Let us strive today to deepen our relationship with Jesus in our prayer and in all that we do.
Prayer
Gracious Lord, we strive to do your will, although we often stumble and fail in our efforts. Help us in our weakness to know the path we should walk, and help us in our journey to find the narrow gate. Grant us, in your great love, the strength to enter into your kingdom where you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We ask this in your holy name. Amen.
Saint of the Day
When St. Frumentius visited the famous St. Athanasius to ask him to send priests and bishops to Ethiopia, Athanasius told him to go himself, and ordained him on the spot.
Frumentius was born in Tyre (what is now Lebanon) and was sent with a friend to live with a philosopher to receive an education. Around the year 330, their teacher decided to travel the known world, and he took the two boys with him.
When their ship wrecked near modern-day Ethiopia, the native people attacked the travelers—all but the two boys were killed, including their teacher. The boys were captured and taken to the king of the region.
The king was impressed with their learning and commanded them to serve his court. The two served the royal family for years, and when the king died they were granted their freedom. The queen asked them to remain to assist in the management of the kingdom until her sons were old enough to reign, and they both decided to stay.
When her sons came of age, Frumentius and his friend were faced with a decision to leave. His friend returned to Tyre, but Frumentius felt called to spread the faith through Ethiopia. He went to the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, a center of power and learning in the Church, and asked the great St. Athanasius to send pastors. Athanasius immediately recognized that no one would be better suited to the job than Frumentius—he ordained the missionary and sent him instead.
Frumentius went back to Ethiopia and brought many to the faith by his preaching and miracles. Ten years after his return, Christianity was named the official state religion of the kingdom. Even the royal household was baptized—they are still honored as saints in the Ethiopian Church. Frumentius was known as “our father” and “father of peace.”
St. Matthew is said to have first evangelized Ethiopia, but Frumentius is known as the apostle to that nation because of his effectiveness in converting people to the faith. It is said that the early diocese of Louisiana observed the feast of St. Frumentius in the 1700s, possibly as an acknowledgment of the Africans enslaved there.
St. Frumentius, who survived shipwreck and evangelized a nation, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Frumentius is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed October 4, 2024.