The Narrow Gate

One of the most sobering questions, and I guess the most interesting answers

to the question would be, Lord, will only a few people be saved?

I remember studying history in my little school, in my little village in Poland.

I don't know, I must have, would have been maybe in fourth grade, fifth grade.

And I remember the teacher teaching us about World War II. Of course,

you can imagine that was a big topic.

So not only during history class, we were learning about World War II,

but also during other subjects.

Because the teachers were from the previous generation, they knew a lot about

it, and they wanted to pass on whatever shocking information.

And so one of the most shocking information to me was.

Was to know that the Nazis would segregate people based on the hair tone color and eye color, right?

So if your eyes were not blue enough, you would not survive.

Like there would be death sentence.

Or if your hair were not blonde enough, right, that there would be a death sentence.

So I remember we would look at each other right

in the classroom um just kind of like would

I have made it um or if

you were not tall enough at this point of your life you would not make it to

the to the to the the race of the gods right the Aryan race the most important

race and so every time a segregation begins which is um according to the caprice

of a of a human person a human being,

it leads to tragedies, great tragedies, that is hard to forget.

So I never forgotten that. And when the question today is posed to Jesus,

Lord, will only a few people be saved?

Jesus doesn't say, I will select who will.

He's not like us. I will tell you who's going to be saved and who's not.

But his answer is not the reassurance we would want either.

He doesn't say, don't worry, heaven is wide open.

Like we've heard, even in the teachings of some of preachers,

some of the preachers, the ones who want to be more merciful and just than God himself.

Oh, don't worry. Everybody's go to heaven.

Where do they read that? Not in today's scriptures.

Heaven is open to everyone. Everyone eventually will convert, even Satan himself.

Hell is empty. Where do they read that? Not in the scriptures.

Instead, Jesus says, and it's an answer that is not direct to the question he

says strive to enter through the narrow gate like as if he wanted to say be

careful you have a lot of freedoms.

You have many things you can do because life can be

beautiful and God doesn't want you to be miserable he wants

you to enjoy it and to to live a good life and to be

happy whatever that means right in human terms but

be careful strive to enter to

the narrow gate for many i tell you will attempt to enter it almost sounds like

someone who is not supposed to be there you know like wedding crushers or whatever

people who are trying to get into a place where they don't belong right they

did like this way that way through the gate through the door maybe nobody's watching,

but will not be strong enough, Jesus says.

And that phrase, the narrow gate, is interesting because what does that mean?

Well, in the time of Jesus, and that's an interesting historical fact.

Towns were often surrounded by walls.

And if you go to Jerusalem, you'll see it a very impressive wall on which you can walk.

So there is a path as wide as this ambo.

And I walked around Jerusalem And based on when you get down,

you're going to be either in the Christian quarters or the Muslim quarters or

the Jewish quarters. And you may find yourself sometimes in trouble.

So be careful if you go. But if you, they're surrounded by walls,

large gates for commerce and travel and small gates, sometimes called the needle's eye.

That were narrow and hard to pass through. to go through the small gate,

as Jesus says, and they would all understand what he meant, I travel in my head to what?

Unload the baggage or luggage, kneel down or enter humbly, or squeeze through it.

It's a symbol of spiritual life, right?

But we cannot take into our coffins.

Our houses, our possessions, except for what we have chosen.

And I remember that also growing up, my grandfather had this suit that he already

had for his burial. Did you grow up like this?

Some of you may have. And the shoes. And my grandmother too.

And it was like, it was weird, you know?

I was like walking through the closets, I mean, going through the closets one day as a boy.

And I said, like, what are these shoes for? Oh, the grandmother's shoes for

her death. I'm like, okay, that makes sense.

Where are my shoes, right?

What's going to be the style when I die? Should I have tennis shoes, black shoes?

That's all we take. And so the narrow gate, it resonates with Jesus' teaching.

The way into the kingdom requires us to set aside our baggage,

whatever that is, sin, pride, which is sin, selfishness, which is sin.

And we have to humble ourselves. There's no way we will enter.

Now the narrow gate is Christ himself who is very much like a watchman.

He's not going to let anyone go through unless you belong.

And the way we know we belong is what?

Through the Eucharist. When you can say amen and receive the Eucharist in a

state of grace, you know you belong.

But if you cannot, you know you don't belong

and you have to fix it whatever it is so the

Catholics we have the assurances when i am in and when i am out by the way father

kose is here in confessions if you want to go until communion time i forgot

to announce it in the middle in the beginning of mass and so the narrow gate,

is something about sacrifice and fidelity it

means living not by the standard of the world which are

broad and permissive but by the

truth of the gospel which demands something of us

the gospel demands something the narrow

way is not about comfort but about

love that costs you something sometimes it

costs you time because you will designate it for prayer so

the entrance to the church of Jesus birth in Bethlehem if

you've been there goes through this door of humility it's very tiny everyone

has to kind of bend down to enter if you want to enter you have to go down on

your knees almost if you don't want to enter well you came all the way from America right.

And you're not going to see the birthplace of Jesus unless you bow down that's

what Jesus does with us if we elevate ourselves too much he's going to bring us down for our own good.

And so here we connect with the second reading for whom the lord loves he disciplines.

Now, discipline is not punishment. Sometimes we take it that way.

But it's training. Think of the athletes who deny themselves late nights or

junk food so that they can train their body to endure.

And it's a real sacrifice. Sometimes when we watch the videos about some athletes,

what they were actually doing to get to Olympic medals or whatever medals.

We're just like, this is insane.

That you could actually for years live like this.

Or musicians who spend hours practicing scales, fingers, aching,

in order to perform beautifully, doctors and surgeons.

People will say like, well, they have money, they dis, well,

they have to practice for years of rigorous study and sleepless nights and discipline

to have steady hands and to be trustworthy in the operating room.

And artists even those who have natural talents

and imagination then must practice technique daily

refine their craft because only discipline turns

talent into excellence and we

really respect not those who are like well i didn't have to do

anything i just play we don't respect that we

respect those who are like man 12 hours

a day i was practicing well i

can respect that everybody can can no it

was just given to me infused i just you know and i ate

and drank and slept and and it just came out it

was all good nobody respects that in

the same way guide trains our souls through

discipline the practice of consistent prayer

even when we don't feel like it the fasting that

is prescribed by the church on Fridays um especially during land but really

good practice every Friday the choosing daily choosing to avoid sin and temptation

when when temptation is pressing on that's what discipline is that's what it does to us.

And so, discipline hurts at first, just like the letter to the Hebrews says,

but it's never pleasant to deny ourselves or to resist, to obey when our pride

says otherwise, but it bears fruit.

The fruit of holiness and righteousness and peace. Without discipline,

as you know, we are weak, whether physically weak or emotionally weak or just weak.

In life we can't stand two hours without not having something that we really want,

and so this is where the seriousness of the gospel must be present there is

no universal salvation as though everyone no matter what will enter into heaven

and there's going to be red carpet.

Definitely not the way we unroll the red carpet in today's world,

there is a universal call but only to holiness

a universal invitation to salvation

but we cannot presume that the invitation is the same as admission the baptism

certificate will not get you into heaven it will not even get you these days

anything you have to obtain a new one usually when you've come to the office

you will know you have to get a new one from within six months,

And if you think you can just waive it and that's all your rights in the church

and you can demand all kinds of things,

just try with God.

It's not going to work. A seat and a heavenly banquet is offered to all,

but none of us yet has the ticket in hand.

God has opened the gate, but we step inside only by narrow road of faith and obedience.

Jesus warns some of those who are knocking at the door saying we we ate with

you we drank with you we can say we came to mass we received the Eucharist but

he will reply I do not know you.

Depart from me, evildoers. Why would he say such harsh words?

Well, because love is not proven by words of familiarity.

Oh, I know this guy, you know, I know God, so I'll get in.

It's proven by obedience. The shock is that there are no pagans or unbelievers here.

There are people who were near Jesus, who listened to him, even ate and drank

in his company, but proximity is not discipleship.

If it were, Judas would not have killed himself.

Familiarity is not faith. The

absence of obedience turns their apparent closeness to a lie. Evildoers.

It doesn't necessarily mean notorious criminals or horrible people,

but it can mean anyone who chooses their own will over God's commands.

Think of a child telling his parents, I love you.

And I hear it all the time, right? And you say to each other,

I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.

You begin the conversation or end every conversation on the phone,

which is amazing to me, with I love you, right?

And so many times I see it. You just talk to your wife. You're calling her again,

and you're going to say, I love you.

Now but if you say that but never listen to

the person or if you're a child and you say to your parents

oh I love you but you never help you always

choose your own interests any parent knows that these words sound empty these

words without meaning cut actually more deeply than silence would just don't

say it don't say you love me show it to me because love is not only about saying beautiful things.

Love is proven in obedience, and that's what Jesus wants.

He wants it in action by doing what is asked of you, by honoring Christ's sacrifice

on the cross, not by sentiment, but by living out his commandments.

And so the narrow gate then is the daily path of obedience and sacrifice.

Choosing honesty instead of a lie, choosing forgiveness instead of bitterness,

choosing fidelity instead of

selfishness, choosing prayer instead of distractions of the modern world.

These are small but real acts of striving.

This is where we say to God without saying, I love you. You are God because

I'm trying to live according to your law.

And yes, it is demanding and yes, it requires effort, but it is not meant to discourage us.

It is actually to help us to be strong.

Because we don't walk this path alone. We walk with Jesus who is obedient until death.

In the Eucharist he strengthens us

and the narrow gate which is difficult um

is open to us we are fed by the very body

and blood of Christ the food of pilgrims the strength of the weak the medicine

of sinners so today during holy communion when Jesus will place into our hearts

not only his life but also his grace to live as true disciples as true sons

and daughters who not only say i love you and I know you,

but also obey you and sacrifice for you.

All we need to do is to welcome Jesus, to honor him during communion time,

and to make some good resolutions, and he will do the rest.