STRIVE TO ENTER THE NARROW GATE

Luke 13:22-30

Today’s gospel is about Jesus on a journey to Jerusalem. While he was traveling, he could stop in towns and villages to teach the crowds. Someone from the crowd asked him: “Lord, will only a few be saved?” It is a question about “How many will be saved?” Jesus did not answer this question because it was a wrong one. Instead He tells them: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt but will not be strong enough.”  Jesus’ response to the crowd shows us that the important question in our Christian life is not about knowing the number of those who will be saved; the important question is: “How will we be saved?” And this is the question he responds to.

The Lord does not give us numbers; the Lord shows us the way we will be saved. We will be saved by entering the through the narrow gate. Does Jesus, perhaps, says this to fill us with fear and to oblige us to observe the Law as the Pharisees? What does this narrow gate signify? About which gate is he speaking? In his explanation, Jesus gives us two things which are very important about salvation:

First, he surprises His listeners by saying that eating and drinking with him does not automatically mean they will enter God’s Kingdom. Here, Jesus is challenging the appearance and calling us for a deeper and personal life of faith. It not because I belong to a particular Church, a particular prayer group, a particular congregation or a particular Christian community that I will enter the kingdom of heaven; but how do I nature and develop my personal relationship with Jesus, the narrow gate.

The second thing follows immediately the first; Jesus shows us how to enter the narrow gate; how to live our Christian life. He says: “Do your best….” Keep on striving to enter through the narrow gate. We must follow Jesus in the way of the cross.  The word strive can also be translated as struggle or even as agony. To enter the kingdom of God one must struggle against the forces of temptation and whatever would hinder us from doing the will of God. The good news is that we do not struggle alone.  God is with us and his grace is sufficient. Jesus assures us of complete victory if we invite him in our struggle.