METANOIA...LIFE CHANGING MOMENT

Readings: Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrew 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

 

 METANOIA

“A Christian like a candle, must keep cool and burn at the same time” – M. Rosell

 

Everyone wants to go to heaven but strangely enough, we fear to die. Death is a common factor which each of us has in common, if we knew this at the bottom of our hearts and souls, pride would not be part of our daily vocabulary language, and behavior. Prophet Isaiah prepares us when he states that “Christ knows our works and thoughts and he will certainly come to gather all nations and tongues to see his glory” (Isaiah 66:18). The inner heartily search and contemplation is, but who will enter into this glory that Christ is preparing? Let’s imagine those who are inclined to tribal feelings and agents of exaggerated ethnicity what they will be asking, will my tribe be there and which tribe will claim the victory torchbearer of this salvation? The disciples asked Jesus this question and Jesus was not prepared to answer them because he knew where they were heading. Often we may ask a question not to be helped to know but to simply test the waters to know what someone says, to test our imagined hypotheses in our mind. The question is supposing you would find yourself in this category which answer would you give to such a question and what do you think Jesus will tell you?

There is no favoritism in the Kingdom of God. It’s not like world cup inauguration or finals where the telescopic lens zooms are on the superstar at every move. The sponsoring company selects players for reasons of their interest and how much is entering in the account, prestige, and privilege, whose prime time is specially reserved for them, whenever they choose to air a certain product. Such things don’t exist in God’s kingdom. “People will enter from the east and west, from the north and south” (Luke 13:29), the colored and the rich and the poor.

None of us is sure who will enter into this eternal life, Jesus has given us some guidelines, of course, he is not like the guide who says, "Well, I don’t know for sure, but I have my suspicion”. Jesus is definite about his guidance. He says that the “door to eternal life is narrow… Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able (Luke 13:24); those who struggle and suffer for the sake of truth, justice and love will enter into it; “endure trials as the discipline of God” (Heb 12:11). The word ‘discipline’ frightens away people these days, though out of the word ‘discipline' comes to the word ‘disciple’. Discipline has the power to transform trials into triumphs, pains into peace, like the modern personal air cooler, does with the heat. Unlike the conventional fans, which only redistribute warm air, the personal air cooler reduces the temperature of the air and gently blows this cooled refreshing air in your direction, so is discipline.

Some of us are good in mathematical formulae will calculate the many masses we have attended, number of confessions we have made, number of anointing one has received and many other devotional groups attended and calling ourselves the "insiders", may be disappointed. The poor may step ahead of the rich, the simple surpasses the clever and sinners outshine the pious. That is Christ's warning. Those who heed the warning are safe. Those who do not may face the kind of fate Alison Hargreaves the British mountaineer who was warned against going further than a given point by Pakistani army officer for it would be suicidal, but she did not listen. The result was that she died on the mountain; what appeared to be a safe mountain, suddenly turned, as she had been warned, into a raging holocaust of swirling snow and wind.

 

“God is not a cosmic bell-boy for whom we can press a button to get things”.

                                              Harry Emerson Fosdick