TRY TO ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE

Luke 13:22-30

Today’s gospel is about Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem. Now, at one stage on this journey, someone puts a question to Jesus: how many will be saved? Jesus’ reply does not mention any number of those who will be saved but contains an exhortation and a warning. Jesus says «try» to enter through the narrow gate. This image does not say that God wishes to make it difficult for us to obtain salvation, but it emphasizes the commitment of men and women, and the concreteness of the effort involved in this commitment to obtain salvation. It is a call for us to be committed and focused. Know what you want according to your faith, commit yourself to it and remain focused to it. That is what it means to try to enter through the narrow gate. The world we are living in has so many ideologies, so many pleasured, and so many disturbing and distorted ideas about our faith. Trying to enter through the narrow gate means to be able to close our eyes and ears to all these earthly things, to be able to choose what is good for us, to commit ourselves to it and to remain focused.