All Can Be Saved: The Urgency of Mission Today

Listening to the Spirit

Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Word so that all your people may know and love You more.
Holy Spirit, may You enlighten my mind and enkindle in my heart a greater love for Jesus’ Word and life. Amen.

Listening to the Word

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."

Reflection

Last Sunday, Jesus revealed His mission with striking clarity: “I have come to bring fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49). On His way to Jerusalem, He prepared to manifest Himself fully in the gift of the Cross, where He would ignite the fire of divine love. Already, through His words and deeds, Jesus was setting hearts ablaze.

Today we hear his words that sound sharp and demanding, even threatening. Yet they are good news, for they are meant to awaken us from spiritual drowsiness, routine devotion, and half-hearted discipleship.

Along the way, someone asks Him an existential question: “Lord, will only a few be saved?” (Lk 13:23). Such questions often betray our fears: why do we imagine salvation as a privilege reserved for a chosen few, rather than a gift offered universally? Jesus’ reply overturns the question: do not speculate about numbers; rather, take responsibility for your own salvation. It is not a matter of chance or predestination, but of encounter—God’s proposal of love addressed personally to each one of us. Salvation is not automatic, nor reserved for a few, but offered to all as a gift. Salvation is not anonymous: every person is the protagonist of a unique, unrepeatable history.

The Lord’s image of the “narrow door” is not about a harsh God limiting entry, but about the immense dignity of human life, which must be lived authentically through daily choices aligned with Him. Salvation, then, is nothing less than an authentic existence life; a life made true—an existence shaped by love, fidelity, and communion with Christ.

The Gospel reminds us: not all are automatically saved, but all can be saved. From an ad gentes perspective, this underlines the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel beyond the Christian community: salvation is not a private possession but a gift intended for all peoples, nations, and cultures.

As missionaries, we are sent to awaken Jesus’ fire, where hearts may have grown cold, to witness that salvation is not a privilege but a universal invitation. Our task is not to count numbers, but to help each person encounter Christ in an authentic way. Mission ad gentes means carrying the Good News with hope and urgency: all can be saved, all are invited, all are loved.

Let us pray: O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.