Enter through the narrow gate.
Many years ago, an editorial in the magazine, War Cry, put it like this: “A loose wire gives out no musical note; but fasten the ends, and the piano, the harp or the violin is born. Free steam drives no machine. But hamper and confine it with piston and turbine and you have the great world of machinery made possible. The unhampered river drives no dynamos but dam it up and we get power sufficient to light a great city. So, our lives must be disciplined if we are to be of any real service in this world.”
If you are going to walk with Jesus, there are some things you will need to leave behind. 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 explains who will be saved, how, why, and when, and Jesus tells them that anyone who follows him through the narrow gate of sacrificial serving and sharing love will be saved.
In the first reading, Isaiah’s prophecy speaks to the future Babylonian exiles returning to Jerusalem after 47 years in captivity, telling them that salvation is not a Jewish monopoly, and that is why Yahweh will also welcome the pagans into Judaism. The prophet’s great book ends as it begins — with a vision of all the peoples of the world streaming toward Jerusalem, acknowledging and praising the God of Israel.
In the second reading, exploring with his readers the consequences of Christian commitment, St. Paul explains “the narrow gate” of Jesus as the pain and suffering resulting from the loving discipline God is giving His children. St. Paul considering the narrow gate theology gives 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 “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.Hence, our answer to the question: “Have you been saved?” should be: “I have been saved from the penalty of sin by Christ’s death and Resurrection. I am being saved from the power of sin by the indwelling Spirit of God. I have the hope that I shall one day be saved from the very presence of sin when I go to be with God.” It is through the grace of Christ that we are able to live out God’s Life in us — a grace that is fortified every time we participate in the Holy Eucharist, are reconciled with God and meditate on His Word.
Venerable Bishop Fulton J. Sheen says that we will have three surprises in Heaven: 1) There will be many there whom we never expected; 2) there will be many absent whom we expected to see; and 3) we will be surprised to find that we ourselves have gotten in!
The real question is: who will enter God’s Kingdom? There is only one answer: those who choose the narrow gate, and they will come from east and west, and will eat together, live together, and enjoy God in the Beatific Vision for all eternity. We need to make wise decisions and choose the narrow gate. God allows us to decide every day what road we will walk down and what gate we will choose. He encourages us, however, to choose His way: “Choose life” (Moses – Dt 30:19-20); “Choose this day whom to serve” (Joshua – Jos 24:15); ”If God is Lord, follow Him” (Elijah – 1 Kgs 18:21); “There are two paths: one of life and one of death, and the difference between the two is great.”(Didache); “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Lk 9:23). This means a consistent denial of self and the steady relinquishing of sinful pleasures, pursuits, and interests. St. Paul lists these sins in Galatians 5:19-21: “The works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, and the like.” Paul then enumerates “good works” that are representative of the “narrow road” and “narrow gate.” These are “the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23). In other words, the “narrow road” or “narrow gate” concerns our everyday living—our relationships with God and with one another. To enter the narrow gate involves being with the blessed ones (poor, peacemakers, persecuted, etc), being salt and light consistently, following Jesus’ radical way about murder/anger, adultery/lust, divorce, truth-telling, choosing mercy over revenge, loving enemies. And it involves doing good deeds for the right reasons; it involves pursuing the Kingdom and God’s justice instead of fame and fortune; and it involves not condemning others. It involves repentance, obedience, humility, righteousness, truth and discipleship. Hence, we are to strive to enter through the “narrow gate” by prayer and supplication, diligently seeking deliverance from those things which would bar our entrance, and acquiring those things which would facilitate our entry