All will come

Who will be in high places in the kingdom of God? Who will be seated at the right and left of Christ when he assumes his power? Who will be the first? These questions were very much part of the journey of the disciples of Jesus. It was never a strange question in any society to ask who were the first, the elite or the privileged.

‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door,’ was Jesus’ advice in order to find life. Many could not enter, perhaps because their super-claims of their worth of entering the gate were heavy upon them. The reason shown for their failure is that they were wicked, and that they did not seek the will of the Father. Who? Those who had claims of familiarity with the master in eating and drinking with him, and according to Mt 7: 21, 22 they even prophesied, drove out demons, and performed miracles.

The category of the first always had the privilege of being strict and faithful to all the laws and customs, oaths and sacrifices. The last were the poor, marginalised, people in the category of sinners who were lawless and godless. These claims and accusations did hurt Jesus, and very often invited his criticism. Very often, the choice of time and mode of healing, the stand he took on certain occasions, even famous parables like Good Samaritan and Prodigal Son challenged the hard heartedness of the first.

The Kingdom of God that Jesus has introduced is a reality among us, in our very lives. It is in the experience of God’s love, care and providence. It is not an absence of limitations and pain, but rather the experience of God-with-us. As a realisation, the kingdom of God among us, here and now, is based upon the Emmanuel experience of the heart. As a pattern of life, it is constantly seeking the kingdom of God and its righteousness. It is a life moulded in gratitude, generosity and service. Taken into responsible relationships, the kingdom of God informs us with the sense of equality and mutual respect. We are all the children of God.

An open heart is the narrow door; a heart that seeks the kingdom of God and his righteousness, a heart that is free of prejudices. It is not easy to break the cultural and religious barriers that keep our selves secure and comfortable. But entering the kingdom is by bringing down those boundaries of the self, and following the way of Christ.

The kingdom of God is not other-worldly; a superperfect and transcendent world, something beyond human reach. We have often framed such alternative worlds to be the kingdom of God. That higher world will always have the temptation to make ourselves first and the custodians of that world. There, in that kingdom, every knee shall bow before ‘my ways of thinking about God,’ ‘my moral views,’ and ‘my spirituality.’ With the image of a Kingdom framed within the kingdom of emperors, we cannot understand the kingdom of God Jesus introduced to us. Being the first we may have a sure guarantee of the kingdom, even the right to condemn the least as uncivilised, sinners, unnatural or ungodly. In fact, making ourselves first, we close the doors against the kingdom of God for ourselves and for others.

Whom do we expect to be there in the kingdom of God? Is the kingdom exclusively of ours who are the first and have the full knowledge of God? Our prejudices and pride over claims to be the first will be brought to shame. From east and west, north and south, all will come to take their place in the feast of the kingdom. All will come, from all languages, races cultures, and faiths; all creation will come, animals, plants and humans, to find their place in the kingdom of heaven.

An open heart is the narrow door. Jesus could say, “I am the door.” Each one of us is a door to one another to enter into the kingdom. The other is the door for me to enter, and so it seems very narrow to break ourselves into the full freedom of being the children of God. But that is the way to enter into the joy of the kingdom. The narrow door is an effort for a renewed conscience formed with fraternity, love, compassion, and solidarity, that we all may gather together. That is the way God’s glory is experienced among us and shines forth.