Awakenings

by Father Thomas Keating

From the Teachings of Jesus

Chapter 21

The Narrow Door

He 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 wild 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 wild be last."
(Luke 13:22-30)

    This was Jesus' last trip to Jerusalem, a trip which was to bring his life and teaching to a calamitous conclusion. In the forefront of Jesus' mind is the sacrifice of his life that he is about to offer for the redemption of the world. In the course of his teaching, someone asks, "Sir, are there going to be few or many saved?" Jesus, as a wisdom teacher, was well able to discern how serious this question was. Did this person really want to know the answer, or was this just a casual question prompted by curiosity?

    This young man could be a genuine seeker passionately interested in the answer either for himself or for the sake of other people with whom he identifies. If you are engaged in the service of the retarded, the dying, the hungry, or the imprisoned, this is a crucial question. You really want to know. The question to which Jesus responds challenges us. Are there going to be few who are saved? If so, how do we become one of those few?

    Notice how Jesus responds. He is on his way to his own death so he is not about to answer lightly. Are there few who are going to be saved? He does not answer the question directly. He simply enlarges the background and thus frees the questioner from a variety of limiting factors that would make it impossible for him to know the answer.

    Jesus says first of all that one's external adherence to one's religion does not guarantee entrance into the kingdom of God. Those who think they are first will be last and those who are last will be first. Or again, people are going to come from the east, west, north, and south and take their places with the prophets while the insiders may find themselves outsiders. Thus, external adherence to the religion that embraces the revelation of God is not enough. A lot of people whom we do not expect to find in the kingdom are going to be there. Why? Because they have inwardly accepted the basic principle of the kingdom of God which is fidelity to one's conscience. Jesus does not indicate that those from the north, south, east, and west are going to be Christians. He just says that they are going to be there. How they got there is not addressed. He also says that those who think they are going to be there are not going to be there. In fact, when they bang on the door crying, "Lord, we heard you every Sunday in church, we ate and drank with you. You must know us," he will reply, "I never heard of you. Go away"

    The external observances of religion by themselves are useless. Our actions must correspond with our beliefs. They are going to be the measure by which the master of the house, after he has gone to bed, will decide whether it is worth getting up to let us in.

    These are the serious considerations that Jesus lays out for the reflection of this young man and for the broadening of his ideas. Already Jesus has delivered him from his over-identification with his cultural conditioning and religious self image. Hence, the young man's question is put into a wholly new context.

    Jesus replies, "Try to enter through the narrow gate." What is the narrow door that provides such great security? In a sheepfold the gate is extremely narrow. Only one sheep can go in or out at a time. Hence, there is an intimate relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. He calls each one by name.

The narrow door, in the context of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and to his sacrificial death, is his teaching and example. It is not calling oneself a Christian but actually following Jesus that counts.

The basic teaching of Jesus is the unconditional acceptance of everyone. Although such a practice is extremely demanding, everyone has the capacity to do it because only two things are required--suffering and love. Everyone can suffer and everyone can love.

This chapter is taken from the book Awakenings by Fr. Thomas Keating. You can obtain a copy from the Bookstore.  See Awakenings