Reclaiming our true identity

In our Gospel reading today, someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” (Luke 13:23). The question reflects the sense of entitlement held by many of Jesus's contemporaries. They assumed that they were God’s chosen people, so they were guaranteed salvation while the rest of humanity was consigned to hell. But Jesus challenged that assumption.

- THROUGH UNTRUE FR. ROLANDO Y. DELA ROSA, O.P.

Being chosen is not the same as being saved. Throughout their history, the Israelites frequently showed that although they were set apart to reflect God's holiness and justice, they repeatedly turned away from God, worshiping idols and rebelling against His will. Despite God’s unwavering faithfulness, they often failed to embody their status as the chosen people.

Time and again, the prophets called them to return to the very core of their identity, which was to be God's faithful people. Jesus echoed this call, saying, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do what Abraham did” (John 8:39). If they continued to make a mockery of their original calling, their chosenness would lead not to salvation but damnation, as Jesus warned, “You will knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ and he will reply, ‘I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, you evildoers’” (Luke 13:25-27).