XXI-O.T. Is. 66:18-21; Heb. 12:5-7, 11-13; Lk. 13:22-30

As he continues his fateful journey to Jerusalem, Jesus answers the question as to how many will be saved by answering how to enter into salvation and how urgent it is to strive now, before the Master closes the door. Jesus also admonishes his followers to concentrate on their own salvation instead of worrying about the salvation of others.

We don't know who the questioner was. It was someone who believed in eternal life. He was wondering if it was as hard to attain it as the prevailing view was. In our culture, the prevailing view is just the opposite.  It says that most people are nice guys, so most people will get to heaven. But what does Jesus say? He doesn't give a direct answer. He doesn't say, "Only a few will be saved," as the Pharisees taught. Neither does he say, "Many will be saved," as today's popular culture teaches. Instead, he changes the focus from general statistics to the individual. He looks at his questioner and says, "Strive to enter by the narrow gate." Then he tells a parable that reinforces this emphasis on individual responsibility (as opposed to general appearances) by showing that on Judgment Day there will be a lot of surprises - the first will be last, and the last will be first. We cannot take our friendship with Christ for granted. We have to consciously and continually strive to enter by the narrow gate.

Jesus is inviting us to break out of our comfort zones and start striving to follow him more closely. It's a real relationship that needs attention and effort. He invites us to strive more intelligently or energetically. Daily prayer and frequent confession are essential aspects of striving to enter through the narrow gate.

We cannot strive with all our strength to follow Christ if we do not know Christ.  It is not enough to have a superficial knowledge of Christ - like the people who said, "We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets." Rather, we have to have a living, lasting, growing friendship with Christ. That is what we were created for, and that is what will lead us to true life.

And since friendship always involves effort, self-sacrifice, and the investment of time and energy, the same thing goes for our friendship with Christ. Salvation comes from actually following him, from striving to know him better and live out his teaching. This is what Jesus means by "the narrow gate" that leads to salvation. To get through a narrow gate you have to leave behind all your excess baggage - you have to go through it on purpose.

It is possible to be labeled a Christian on the outside without really making an effort to follow the Christian way in our hearts. It is possible to come to Mass, to be involved with parish activities, and still never really enter into a committed, life-changing, personal relationship with Christ. Jesus knows that going through the motions isn't enough; we need to let his grace change our lives.

 

A few ways to start striving to know Christ better are: weekly Eucharistic adoration, joining Bible studies, renewing your prayer life, reading a good book on Christ, meditating on the mysteries of the rosaries etc... Jesus is eager to help us through the narrow gate, but he can't do his part unless we also strive to do our part.

The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: "do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines..." In other words, every trial and tribulation that comes our way in life is either sent or permitted by God for our benefit. Nothing is outside of his wise and loving plan. And the main focus of that plan is to restore us to the fullness of life that sin has disrupted.

 

When God sends or permits trials, we often react by rebelling. In the spiritual life, we are like children who don't appreciate the value of discipline. So when following Christ's path becomes uncomfortable, when his gate becomes too narrow, we start looking around for shortcuts. We think to ourselves, “Jesus promises lasting happiness, but it seems so far away!" And then we think about the people around us, and the people on television and in the movies. They seem to be enjoying themselves so much. They don't follow Christ's teaching, but they seem to be doing just fine. And that's when we start to compromise in our moral lives. We cut corners on Church teaching in little ways that no one will notice. We make little exceptions. After all, we tell ourselves, everyone else is doing it. And so we step off the straight path traced out by the Ten Commandments and the Catechism - that sure and dependable path that our conscience always points too. We prefer the winding "shortcut".

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Until it suddenly stopped making any progress and looked like it was stuck.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn’t think anything of it and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body.

Our struggles in life develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and never get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not be relying on help from others. When we accept these challenges and grow we will be able to say with Robert Frost,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by

And that has made all the difference.