First Reading - Isaiah 66:18-21
Second Reading - Hebrews 12:5-7,11-13
Gospel - Luke 13:22-30
Dear friends, the readings of today invite us to meditate on the gift of salvation we have received in Jesus and challenge us to give a serious thought to this.
In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah answers prophetically the question about salvation, which would be put forward some 200 years later by the Jews returning to Jerusalem in 540 BC after forty-seven years in exile. Some of them brought with them to Jerusalem their pagan wives and in-laws who had been converted to the Jewish Faith. The question was whether Yahweh would accept these former pagans along with His chosen people. The third part of Isaiah’s prophecy (chapters 56-66), answers this question. In the prophet’s message, Yahweh declares that He is the Lord of all peoples rather than of the Jews alone. In fact, some of these converts were to be missionaries to other pagans. Even the hereditary posts of priest and Levite could be held by these outsiders. (The Jewish priests were born into the priesthood. No Jewish man born outside of a priestly family could ever dream of standing at the altar and offering sacrifice to Yahweh. But Isaiah foresaw that even the non-Jews would be invited to join that highly restricted ministry!
In the second reading, St. Paul, considering the “narrow gate theology,” gives it a different twist. For him, the road less often taken and the gate less often chosen are the paths of God’s discipline. The pain and suffering Christians experience are parts of God’s discipline, given in love. The Greek word paideia, translated here as “discipline,” refers to the process of education and training by which the young Greeks were prepared to be admitted to citizenship in a Greek city. It’s costly, but failure to pay the price costs more. We are being disciplined by our afflictions, strengthened to walk that straight and narrow path – that we may enter the gate and take our place at the banquet of the righteous. The experience is similar to that of a child disciplined by loving parents who desire only to help him grow, mature, and become responsible. God’s discipline can be appreciated only by those who regard their relationship with God as that of a child to a parent (Pv 3:11-12). Unfortunately, we often take God’s discipline differently. Some of us meet God’s discipline with a resigned acceptance that sees no other possible course. Others gulp it down like a bitter pill so as to be done with it as soon as possible. Some respond with self-pity, which, in the end, leads to their collapse. Still others become resentful and turn away from God. However, there are some, who can lift their spirits above present trials and look beyond to the peace and justice (v. 11) which are the fruits of God’s discipline.
In the gospel, when the questioner asked Jesus “How many will be saved?” Jesus issued a series of sayings and parables that emphasized the difficulty involved in entering God’s Kingdom, and he stressed the need for our constant fidelity and vigilance throughout our lives. Jesus also insisted that salvation was an urgent matter — the “narrow gate” was open now but would not remain so indefinitely (“the master of the house will lock the door”). Then he added two conditions: a) Eternal salvation is the result of a struggle: “keep on striving to enter.” (The Greek word agonizomai means strenuous effort in athletic competition). It is like the effort one would make in swimming against the current in a river. A man must ever be going forward or else he will go backward. b) We must enter through the “narrow gate” of sacrificial and selfless service.
The narrow gate: Most cities of the ancient world were surrounded by walls that had large gates in them. Jerusalem had about twelve gates that were large enough for two-way traffic. People moved through these gates to do their business, to shop and to visit their friends. These gates, however, were closed at night, in case the city came under attack by an invader. There were also smaller gates through which individual citizens could be allowed into the city by the guards without exposing the city to danger. These smaller, or narrower gates were what Jesus was talking about. These smaller gates were like turnstiles – only one person at a time could enter through them. Jesus repeats Isaiah’s image of a final banquet. He does not want his followers to presume they can just slip through to enter his Father’s house. Jesus is not looking for casual acquaintance from us but for real dedication. The crowd will press for entry, but the door will be too narrow to admit all. The less alert will be forced to stay outside and appeal in vain for entry. They will say that they ought to be allowed to enter because they were acquainted with Jesus during his earthly life. The irony of Jesus’ image is that the narrow gates are the proper way to enter the Kingdom precisely because they are just wide enough to receive a single person – anyone who is willing to do sacrificial service for the glory of God. In other words, entering through the narrow gate denotes a steady obedience to the Lord Jesus — overcoming all opposition and rejecting every temptation. It is the narrow way of unconditional and unremitting love. Mere faith in Jesus and membership in His Church by Baptism cannot guarantee salvation. Some of the Fathers of the Church interpreted the narrow door as that small place in the heart where one says “yes” or “no” to what one knows to be true. It is the one place into which no external force can enter to shape or coerce one’s choices. This place is what Teresa of Avila calls the “center of the soul” wherein God dwells. That means that Jesus is the narrow gate, the way by which any person must enter the Heavenly city. There is a sense of urgency present here. Salvation is offered to all, but not forced upon anyone. If we do not seize the moment for what it is – a moment of grace in which to act – then before we know it, the time will have come to “close the door.” Every moment we live is an opportunity for grace, an occasion to take action as a disciple of Jesus.
Dear friends, We need to cooperate with God’s grace daily given to us: a) by choosing the narrow way and the narrow gate of self-control and self-disciplining of our evil tendencies, evil habits, and addictions; b) by loving others, seeing the face of Jesus in them, and sharing our blessings with them sacrificially; c) by obtaining the daily Divine strength to practice self-control and sharing love through the guidance of the Holy Spirit in daily prayer, in Bible reading, and in reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
The parable of the locked door warns us that the time is short. Each day sees endings and opportunities missed. “Opportunity will not knock twice at your door.” Remember the old “Examination of Conscience” we were asked to make at the end of each day, in which we ask God’s pardon for the faults and sins of the day? “How conscious was I this day of God’s numerous gifts? How well did I respond to the opportunities to bear witness and serve in Jesus’ name: to forgive, feed, clothe, and love those who entered my life? How much did I strive today to enter through the narrow gate of sacrificial love in action?'” We might conclude this self-examination with a short prayer: “I need you Jesus Christ. Grant me forgiveness for my sins. Make me a new person. I need your Holy Spirit to direct me, to strengthen me, so that I can walk in the narrow way and choose the narrow gate. I need you to change me from a self-centered, self-sufficient person into your wise servant.”
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