Proper 16C                R Lundquist                           8/26/07

Isaiah 28:14-22   http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=55106469

Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-29   http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=55106501

Luke 13:22-30   http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=55106529

Lord, who will be saved?  That’s what’s behind the question in today’s Gospel. 

Who’s in, who’s out? …

It’s a question asked by one who’s either confident or frightened…

So are we talking about universalism?  Everyone getting in? 

 It creates an interesting picture of all those who may end up across from each other at the heavenly banquet table…

Jesus, as usual, doesn’t answer question.  Instead he answers one of his own.

            “Strive to enter thru the narrow door,” he says. 

By that I believe he means:  One at a time!  One at a time through the narrow door.  Because crowds don’t matter here:  Children of Abraham, Rotarians, well-connected families, Knights of Columbus – all are irrelevant.  You can’t get in because you know the doorman or are tight with the bouncer.  There can be no herd mentality or safety in numbers when it comes to salvation.  One at a time.  Matthew, Zacchaeus, Samaritan woman, Saul, Cornelius… all thru the narrow door.  Those who think they know who is in and who is out will be the most surprised.

            Jesus, sometimes called “The Door” by the first Christians, will not hear “WE.”   “We ate & drank w/ you!”  I don’t know where you come from.  “We heard you teach in our streets!”  I don’t know where you come from.  There is no safety in numbers:  one at a time.

            The Prophet Isaiah speaks today about the rulers of Jerusalem, who have made a covenant with death, an agreement w/ hell, for their own benefit.  It’s the ultimate golden parachute – buying off death with lies.  It’s truly a deal with the devil.

            God is not fooled, says Isaiah.  The deal with death will be annulled, and the evil rulers will be swept away.  For them, the bed’s too short and the blanket’s too narrow.  God says, “I am laying a cornerstone, a sure foundation.  For one who trusts will not panic.”  Obviously that’s not the rulers, living in fear.

            It’s often our own insecurities and anxieties that betray us.  “The one who trusts in God will not panic.”

We all feel it every day:  the world shakes all around us.  Constant change & upheaval.  War, distrust, scandal.  Tragedy in mines & flood-swept places.  Tainted food & toys.  But “we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shake,.” according to the epistle.  Remember the Gospel lesson from the past few weeks:  it is God’s good favor to give you the kingdom, says Jesus.  What is real is unshakeable.  So, what is real?

Is it gridlock, conflict, competition, bills?  The hustle-bustle of everyday life?  The grind? 

Or is it the Beauty of Holiness, the blue sky, God’s love, shalom?  Shalom – the peace of God that is so much more than the absence of conflict – it is a fullness of God, felt in every way, lived every day.

Our God is a consuming fire:  Frightening, awesome, purifying, cleansing.  God is fierce love, an unquenchable fire:

            God loves you single-mindedly!  And Jesus invites you to enter thru the narrow door.

            Too many people try to enter the narrow door by becoming narrow-minded.  Leading narrow lives. “Who will be saved?”

            Brian McLaren in A Generous Orthodoxy:

“Jesus threatened people with inclusion; if they were to be excluded, it would be because they refused to accept their acceptance.”

            Now we know what won’t get us in:  claiming special privilege because of who we think we are.  One doesn’t enter the narrow door by leading a narrow life, rather by leading an expansive life.   Jesus came that we might have life abundant.  That we might each be a blessing to others, who are also made in God’s image & likeness.

                  One of the richest European mythic traditions revolves around seeking the Holy Grail, the cup used by Jesus at the last supper.  Spirited away after his crucifixion, it was thought to impart great power to the one who found it, power to heal and power to live.  In the Arthurian legend Parsifal was a farm boy, one who sat at the table only because he had found his armor and donned it to follow his dream of knighthood.  Parsifal was the knight who vowed to never sleep in the same place twice until he found the Grail.  And he was the only one to lay eyes upon it, according to legend.  He was focused, committed, single-minded, seeking the narrow door.   Always seeking what was REAL.  Knowing that entrance is allowed one at a time.  For God has no grand-children – we each must find the door, says Jesus.

Our world will continue to shake.  But Jesus commands:

            Feed my sheep

And before that the message is:

            I love you.  God’s first & last words to you.  Always.

The God who speaks, shaking heaven & earth

            Loves you, & calls you by name.

The God who consumes & devours as flame

            Loves you & gives you the kingdom.

Struggle to get thru that narrow door, says Jesus.  For that is where the kingdom lies.                    

Amen.