THE NARROW DOOR

 A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13, 22-30)

Jesus went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us.’ He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from me, all you workers of iniquity!’ There you will weep and gnash your teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And men will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

 Once Jesus asked the crowd: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” (Lk 12, 51). Christ’s answer may shock us for we believe he is the one who, Isaiah tells us, is “a son given to us”, the Son of God and the Son of Man at the same time. This is our Christian faith. Isaiah goes on to tell us that “authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Is 9, 6).

Does this Prince of Peace want divisions among humans. “No, he is a Prince who wants peace and love, unity and solidarity, and freedom for his people”. Then, why does he bring divisions? We know that we are on a journey on this earth which is not our ‘forever’ dwelling place. Experience gives us two certainties: We were born, and we shall die. We will not stay here forever!

When travelling, we always have to choose. Do we turn left, or do we turn right? Do we continue straight ahead, or do we turn back? God told his chosen people: “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God” (Deut 30, 19-20). We are free to choose which way to go!

Jesus walks with us during our journey and he respects our freedom. Psalm 16 says: “Lord, You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps 16, 11). It is better for us to choose to follow Christ. However, the Bible reminds us: “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death” (Pr 14, 12). So we make mistakes and we can get lost. And the question arises: “Lord, will only a few be saved?”.

It is not really a question about how many will be saved, but, “Have I any chance of being saved, since I am a sinner?”. Jesus does not give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, for it doesn’t belong to us to know it. Christ’s answer encourages us: “Strive to enter through the narrow door”. He is showing us the way forward. But he alerts us: “Many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able”. Let us pay attention to this: The word ‘strive’ means “to try very hard to achieve something”, while to try is just “to make an attempt or effort to do or get something”. The difference lies in how much ‘heart’ or effort we put into preparing ourselves to be able to arrive where we wish to be. This year the FIFA World Cup will be held. The football teams taking part do not begin training only a few weeks before the games, do they? The next Summer Olympic Games will be held in 2024. The athletes who wish to take part have been training for years now and they have to make many sacrifices in their effort to take part in the games.

This is what Jesus is asking of us all the way. He encourages us to strive with all our heart to follow his way that leads to life. Let us not get discouraged for we are aware that we are sinners. We have to keep on trying. Once St. Peter told Jesus: “Go away from me Lord for I am a sinful man”, and Jesus answered him: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people” (Lk 5, 8-10).

But Jesus said that the door is narrow and many try to enter through it and will not be able to. Somebody asked: “Why did God not make his door wider?” The door is wide enough, yes! God wants us all to be saved, and his door is as wide as his love, expressed in his open arms nailed to his cross.

The problem is on our side. Often we are “too fat”, we are “overweight”. We burden ourselves with so many things, many of them useless, and so we will find it difficult to pass through God’s door. Jesus tells us: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, … but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt 6, 19-21), i.e. Where my treasure is there I am even now on earth! “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ … your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6, 31-33). In one word: the door is wide enough for any of us to pass through it, if we accept Christ’s words of encouragement. We are sinners, yes, but God wants us all to be saved, if we want to, seriously. There is no need for God to widen doors, only for us to shed the things we don’t really need and share with others all that we have: love, time, friendship, solidarity, and other things as well. Jesus has prepared a place for us in heaven. Let us strive to arrive there! Therefore, "Come after me!" Jesus tells us!