Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time. Do you have experiences of being treated as an insider and/or an outsider? How does that experience affect you and your relationships with others?
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here: Franciscan Gospel Reflection August 24 2025. Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photos: A narrow alley off Iron Gate by Malcolm Neal, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons; Narrow stile in wall below Gate Crag by Rob Noble, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Luke 13:22-30
Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
“After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets,’ Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers! “And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
Background:
Last week the Gospel presented an atypical image of Jesus. In the first verse of that Gospel Jesus said that he came “to set the earth on fire” (Luke 12:49). The text went on to describe the divisions among Christian families that were beginning because of their acceptance of Jesus’ teachings and values. Luke then describes Jesus exhorting the people in the crowd, who know how to interpret signs in the weather but not their own situation.
The first verses of chapter 13 of Luke’s Gospel describe Jesus addressing the crowds. First, he responds to those who look upon others as sinful because of some tragedy. Then Luke follows that with three of Jesus’ parables. The first uses a barren fig tree to reveal the compassionate patience of God. The second uses a mustard seed example to speak of God’s ability to accomplish greatness with the smallest of seeds. The third focuses on undetectable yeast that is present in the whole measure of dough. Following these three parables the tone of Luke’s Gospel shifts, as Jesus begins his journey toward Jerusalem. After that comes the text that is the Gospel for this Sunday.
The Gospel text begins by simply stating that Jesus had “passed through towns and villages… making his way to Jerusalem,” and someone approaches Jesus (Luke 13:22). Like the towns and the villages to which Jesus traveled, the person also is unnamed. Using their names would be distractions from the question that is being asked. But in a familiar fashion, Jesus redirects the focus of the question from curiosity to the more significant question of who will find themselves among the kingdom of God.
As Judeans of Jesus’ day, most presumed that they were part of God’s chosen people, and therefore assumed they would be part of God’s final realm. The Pharisees, however, held that only a remnant few would be included in the final reign of God. Much of the life and culture of the day was concerned with knowing who belonged within the in-group, and who was not. Knowing one’s status also defined to whom one owed allegiance, and who was to be avoided. Those outside that group were viewed as potential threats to the well-being of one’s primary group. One’s family was part of this in-group by the fact that one shared blood with them. The sharing of other bodily fluids (blood, saliva, semen, or milk) also created a bond between people. In this culture each was looked upon as a brother or sister and not as a potential marriage partner.
Another way of establishing a bond between people was through eating together. Throughout both the Christian and Hebrew scriptures, the significance of who is present at the table and at banquets is often a topic of discussion and a symbol used for instruction. Significant examples of table fellowship found within the scriptures include:
- the Passover,
- Abraham’s meal with the two strangers,
- Jesus dining with the tax collector, Zacchaeus,
- Jesus’ meals with the disciples after the resurrection, and
- Peter’s eating with the gentile converts who were not circumcised, and then refusing to eat with them after he received criticism for eating with non-Jewish Christians. (This becomes very important to Paul and the whole Christian community.)
The parable Jesus tells in this Gospel challenges those who think they know who will be included—those who believe that they should be admitted because they have shared meals. But twice in the parable the master says to those outside, “I do not know where you come from.” The parable also indicates that among those who are presumed not to be welcomed, there are some who have been welcomed. The parable concludes, “And people will come from the east and the west, and the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 13:29)
This is a way of saying that people from all nations and ways of life will be part of the final age. It is important to note that some, among those who believe they are part of the household, will find themselves on the outside. Some, who some might presume to be outsiders will be included and welcomed. The emphasis is striving to enter through the narrow gate and not on membership in a particular group. The narrow gate of the city was the gate through which only a single person could enter. For the Christians for whom Luke is writing, that narrow gate is a person, Jesus Christ.
Reflection Questions:
- Where do you experience people being treated as insiders or outsiders?
- Do you have experiences of being treated as an insider and/or an outsider? How does that experience affect you and your relationships with others?
- Do you know people who are especially good at making people feel like insiders? How do they do that?
- What do you hear underlying the question, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” How would you like to respond to that person?
- Toward the very end of the Gospel Jesus tells the crowd, “And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” What do you hear Jesus saying to you?
- Can you take some time now to talk with God about how you are feeling as you hear Jesus talk about those who are included, your own concern for who might be part of God’s reign, or your own fears and hopes of being part of the final reign of God?
The post Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time 2025 Franciscan Gospel Reflection appeared first on Franciscan Sisters.