Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Luke 13: 22-30
Striving for the Kingdom

In today’s Gospel, someone asks Jesus a striking question: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” The man probably assumed that salvation belonged automatically to the Jews, while the Gentiles would be shut out. But Jesus’ reply must have come as a shock—not only to him, but to all of us.

Jesus makes it clear that entry into the Kingdom of God is not automatic. Salvation is a gift, yes, but it requires our response—a lifelong struggle, a daily striving. The word Jesus uses for “strive” is the same root as “agony.” It suggests a real effort, a struggle of the heart and soul.

Here lies a danger for us: sometimes we imagine that once we have said “yes” to Jesus, we can sit back, relax, and consider the journey finished. But discipleship is never about standing still. It is like climbing a mountain: every day requires another step upward until we reach the peak – God. On the grave of a mountaineer, the following words were written: “He died climbing.” That is what a Christian life should look like.

Jesus also warns us not to rest on borrowed faith. Some in the Gospel say, “We ate and drank in your company, and you taught in our streets.” But external closeness to Christ is not the same as an interior friendship with him. We cannot rely on the faith of our ancestors or on the Christian culture around us. God’s standards are not ours.

Today, the Lord calls us to keep climbing, to keep striving, to never grow content with a lukewarm faith. Let us ask for the grace to walk each day with Jesus—so that when the door is opened, he will know us as friends.

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