Agonize or Agony? Sept. 5 2004.
Imagine that after church you want to go out to eat at a nice restaurant.
As you drive, you dream about the great atmosphere, good company, and fantastic
food: but you are in no hurry, because the drive there is so pleasant.
Upon arrival, you see a wide mixture of people inside, including some
famous folks; as well as people you know. You look thru the window to see
people enjoying superb salads, fresh veggies, prime rib so tender a fork could
slice it, and fancy desserts.
But when you get to the front door, it is closed. Locked. The sign on
the door says: "private party; for invited guests only." You recall: I *did*
get a personal invitation in the mail. I had other things to do, so I didn't
hurry to act on it. You CAN'T get inside. You are hungry, however all you
taste is bitter regret. Your begging to the owner fails. There is no other
place to go for food!
This is a pale foreshadowing of what is to come concerning the Banquet of
the Lamb, the Marriage feast in Heaven.
Some person asked Jesus, "will those who are saved be few?"
Considering Christ's answer, it seems that person wanted to know if they
were good enough for God; or if the Lord used a sliding-scale; or if someone
could squeak in.
Jesus' answer uses the word which is translated "make every effort", or
"strive" or "struggle". The term He used comes from the idea of a contest that
required great effort to win. I'm going to use a word that sounds like that
Greek word: "agonize."
"You must agonize to enter thru the narrow Door; for many, I say, will
seek to enter in but will have no strength. When the Master rises and has
locked the door, and you stand outside & knock, demanding: "Lord, open this
door!" answering, He replies "I don't know what family you are from."
Then you will begin to answer, "but we ate in Your presence, and drank, &
in our streets, You taught. And He will reply, "I tell you, I don't know
where you are from. Go away, all you workers of evil." Jesus doesn't mince
words.
Do many people AGONIZE, struggle, go all-out & do their best in their
effort to get to heaven? More importantly, DO YOU?
With few exceptions, the message of God's salvation in the Cross is
severely distorted in the movies, TV shows, magazines, books, and music. The
fallen world can not understand genuine grace.
But even inside the Christian faith, many churches omit the mention of sin
and hell. Some neglect Christ's passion for us, and concentrate on "how to
live better lives" or focus on actions of compassion without the mention of the
Cross.
Even those who join churches are not so likely to be active disciples: on
average, one half of our members who could be here on Sunday do not bother to
enter the Master's House. If Christians are not living the Gospel, it's no
wonder a fallen world is clueless about the cross of Christ.
All that still doesn't address what JESUS says, tho.
YOU --- not the missing members, the neighbor you can't stand, the churches
with false prophets who bang on your door, or the unbelieving world bound for
hell --- YOU are being spoken to personally!
"YOU must agonize to enter the narrow Door." Being a Lutheran, I ask:
What does this mean; if I do not agonize to enter that Door?
Like the made-up story I started with, it means I will be outside the
party looking in. No strength in all creation can open the gate of heaven, for
anyone to enter, once it's closed; permanently. Agony.
Like that parable, I would be able to see Asians, Mexicans, Africans,
Baptists, Presbyterians, and many others in heaven; as well as Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Luther, and other saints more modern. They would be enjoying eternal
life. Outside, "the worm does not die, neither is the fire quenched," and
"there is weeping, and gnashing of teeth." Agony! Just as the end of Isaiah
warns.
Unlike my story, Christ's narrative does not end. With regards to hell:
"when they've been there 10,000 years." as Amazing Grace sings, there's no less
days. Agony has just begun.
What does this mean, agonize?
Jesus is quite clear as to what it does NOT mean! Those outside of
heaven, Jesus says, will argue: "we ate in Your presence, and drank; & You
taught in our streets. We don't deserve agony!"
In the Greek myths, there was a man condemned to roll a bolder up to the
top of a hill before he could be free. Tantalus was his name. He would get
close, tantalizingly close: he could see the goal. BUT he'd ALWAYS fail.
People in hell will see heaven; but NEVER enter.
Close encounters don't count. Holy Scripture is often compared to eating.
"We ate with You" means something like: "we were members of a church. We
even went regularly. When the Holy Sacrament was offered, we went. Your Word
was TAUGHT there. We belonged to the club. We paid our dues!"
Did you hear what they did NOT say? We believed. We ate and drank FROM
You, Lord. You nourished us and fed our souls. Not only did You teach in our
streets (church), but we heard, we listened, we believed what You taught. With
the joy You put in us, we put forgiveness, love, and acts of compassion into
practice."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to realize that the world, the devil, and my own sinful flesh are making every
effort to ignore God, hate God, be my own god. ANYTHING but place my full
confidence in Jesus and struggle against these things which are enemies of God
AND me.
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to trust "God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father, and
that we are His true children." So that we "fear, love, and trust Him above
all things" as Luther says.
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
when we struggle "to teach God's Word in truth and purity, and we as children
of God also lead holy lives according to it" and "lead godly lives here in time
and there in eternity."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to constantly believe in the gracious invitation Jesus offers. "To read, mark,
learn, & inwardly digest" God's Word, that, by it's power "we may embrace and
ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life which God has given us in
our Savior Jesus Christ."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to realize faith is never mere membership in an ethnic group or a church body.
Faith is a personal relationship God establishes in us by Word and Sacraments
which is lived out in the world.
It is well-said, 'faith is always personal but never private.' Faith is
between God and you, BUT, faith always tries to display itself for the world to
see. "Let your light (your faith) shine before men so they see your good works
then glorify your Father in heaven."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to believe what Luther said in his first of 95 Thesis. Our Lord and Master
Jesus Christ in saying: "Repent", intended that the whole life of believers
should be repentance. That is, recognizing our sin; but realizing the free gift
of salvation by grace alone and then living in the joy of that gift.
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to realize this is not a contest to live a good life and be a perfect person.
Rather, we sing "nothing in my hand I bring; simply to Thy cross I cling."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to come to the foretaste of the Feast to come, Holy Communion, NOT because of
self-worthiness, but rather because of our absolute UN-worthiness and desperate
need to receive His gifts - because we have faith in the promises of God:
"given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins."
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to believe that, while it is important to know Jesus, it is more important to
know God knows me. "Jesus loves me, this I know: for the Bible tells me so!"
He has claimed me as His own dear redeemed child in Baptism, and He continues
to know me and claim me by working faith in my heart thru means of His Word.
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to realize that some of my friends, neighbors, schoolmates, and others do NOT
know Jesus as the only Way, the Truth, and the Life. AND the mission of every
disciple is to tell and help others to tell the Good News about Jesus here in
Iowa, and around the world.
Agonizing, making every effort to enter the narrow Door, is no less than
to believe I deserve to be locked out of heaven by "God, the Judge of all men".
But "great is His love toward us; and the faithfulness of the LORD endures
forever; praise the Lord!" (Introit)
If you are making no effort, if you are not agonizing as a disciple to
believe in Christ Jesus, you MAY be headed toward agony!
Saint Paul writes in Philippians 3:12: "but I press on, that I may lay
hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."
In First Corinthians 9:24 Paul writes: "Do you not know that those who
run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you
obtain it."
Remember from Hebrews 12, "let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, Who for
the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Yes, faith requires effort, even agonizing effort, to trust in the work of
Jesus Christ alone to avoid the agonies of hell.
May the LORD continue to work that faith in you, that you may cling to Him
and enter the narrow Door. Amen.
Pastor Michael Harman,
St. Peter LCMS - Newell, IA
vacancies at ...
Immanuel, Pomeroy
First Evangelical, Fonda
Maybe if I post enough of them, you might like one. :-)
