Salvation is a gift offered by the Lord who desires to include all.
Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 6:1-9 Children,

Obey your parents for this is right: Honor your father and your mother. And this is the first commandment that has promise: that you may be happy and enjoy long life in the land. And you, fathers, do not make rebels of your children, but educate them by correction and instruction which the Lord may inspire.

 Servants, obey your masters of this world with fear and respect, with simplicity of heart, as if obeying Christ. Do not serve only when you are watched or in order to please others, but become servants of Christ who do God’s will with all your heart. Work willingly, for the Lord and not for humans, mindful that the good each one has done, whether servant or free, will be rewarded by the Lord.

 And you, masters, deal with your servants in the same way, and do not threaten them, since you know that they and you have the same Lord who is in heaven, and he treats all fairly.

 

Ps 145:10-11, 12-13ab, 13cd-14

The Lord is faithful in all his words.

 

 ＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊  

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus went through towns and villages teaching and making his way to Jerusalem. Some­­one asked him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?”

And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you will stand outside; then you will knock at the door calling: ‘Lord, open to us.’ But he will say to you: ‘I do not know where you come from.’

 Then you will say: We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets! But he will reply: ‘I don’t know where you come from. Away from me all you workers of evil.’

You will weep and grind your teeth when you see Abraham and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves left outside. Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last will be the first, and others who were first will be last!”

 

 Gospel Reflection：

Entry Requirements

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is a 1989 science fiction comedy film, wherein an invention by scientist accidentally shrinks the kids to miniature sizes. Perhaps it is we adults who need to shrink ourselves, and consciously so, if we are to pass through the “narrow door.”

If our souls have become too obese feasting on the “world”(in the Johannine sense), we might want to fast a bit so as to fit the size of the entry door to the Kingdom.

For our souls to reach the manageable size, as we saw yesterday, we do not need superhuman aerobics: it is enough to do the little things in life with faithfulness.

Paul suggests a few such simple exercises: honor your parents, be a good example to your children, do your duties with commitment, do good, respect one another, fear the Lord. In other words, take care of the Commandments, and the Beatitudes will be yours.