"Friend, will you be in that number?" | By Rev. Dr. Jack R. Miller
 
We often find ourselves navigating through scripture that isn't easy to read and comprehend, not to mention finding an uplifting message to preach. This week's reading (Luke 13:22-30) and its companion passage in Matthew (7:13-14) are such passages. Jesus is on his final trek to Jerusalem and facing a future of ridicule, suffering, and death. The end of his earthly ministry. In these difficult gospel teachings, Jesus is reaching out to help us to prepare for our own end times, when our life on earth is over and we confront eternity face to face.
 
In reading today's lesson, I was reminded of the chorus to the moving spiritual "The Great and Last Convention." You won't find it in any hymnal or even on the internet; it is a song passed down from generation to generation with roots in the old South. The chorus of the song asks us, "Friend, will you be in that number, where there'll be no more goodbyes. In that great and last convention on high."  This sums up the burning realization found in today's gospel story. Jesus replies to a question of how many people will be saved with a challenge for those who profess to be his followers: Strive to enter through the narrow gate, walk the narrow path into God's kingdom, and thus be among those who are saved. Jesus is asking all of us today: "Friend, will you be in that number?" 
 
As he walks along the road toward Jerusalem, Jesus warns his audience that a superficial relationship with his life and teaching would not in itself be enough to find the eternal peace we seek. The book of James is very clear on this; our faith alone, our adherence to ritual, is insufficient, belief in the One True God is not enough, for the devil himself believes, James writes, and trembles in the presence of God. How then do we enter through the narrow gate? How do we prove ourselves to be faithful followers of Christ and worthy of safe passage into eternity? How do we become counted among the number that will come from the four directions to eat and drink at the heavenly banquet in the Kingdom of God?

The image of the narrow gate in today's Gospel speaks of a humble and challenging entryway, built on limitless love, unconditional forgiveness, and sacrificial selflessness. The narrow gate of today’s Gospel is the honest confrontation of who we are, what we believe, what we have done with our lives, what accomplishments and horrors we bear responsibility for. The narrow gates we encounter in this life require of us honesty and integrity that cannot be ignored, or faked, or hidden behind outward appearances of piety. As the evangelist Billy Sunday put it, attending church each Sunday does not make us a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes us an automobile. Faith is not a pre-ordained condition nor an all-purpose pass key through the narrow gate Jesus describes. It does not guarantee our reservation in the hereafter either. What is required is a personal, committed response to the gift of grace we each receive through the death and resurrection of God's only Son. To paraphrase the words of James, let us show the gatekeeper of eternity the depth of our faith through the acts of love and mercy we accomplish in this life in the name of Christ. This is the key to the promised banquet in heaven: being hearers and doers, faithful people who serve faithfully.

Our entry into the life of God requires a devotion that does not allow us to justify our self-serving sense of ethics or our obsession with winning at all costs. The narrow gate has no acceptable margin of error, no wiggle room or escape hatch, no path of least resistance. The narrow gate is often difficult to negotiate because it requires us to bend our egos and wills and humble ourselves to pass through it. But Jesus promises that anyone seeking their way through the narrow gate will find the meaning and purpose in their lives that ultimately leads to an eternal dwelling place in heaven. 

We have a choice to make, and we are making that choice every moment of our lives. We are either connecting with God or fleeing God. We are either growing accustomed to the sin in our lives or repenting of it. We are either knocking down or pushing aside others, or placing ourselves at the service of those in need. Jesus told the crowd, "Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." Our lives are a constant process of conversion, of working to become the people God has called us to become. God’s invitation to the banquet of heaven is extended to all men and women of goodwill; it is extended to you and me this morning. God has no numerical limit on the guest list for that final meeting, that great and last convention on high. There is only one question God has for you and me to consider: Friend, will you be in that number?

Amen? Amen!