How to enter the ‘narrow door’
TODAY is Sunday, the
25th of August. It is the
4th Sunday of the month and is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time of the
Catholic Church’s liturgical and sanctoral calendar.
Today’s Psalm is, “Go out to all the world and tell the good news.”
The 1st Reading of the day is from Isaiah 66:1821. It says:
Now I am going to gather the nations of every tongue, and they will witness my glory, for I will perform a wonderful thing among them. Then I will send some of their survivors to the nations – Tarshish, Put, Lud, Moscheck, Rosh, Tubal and Javan – to the distant islands where no one has ever heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. They will bring your kindred from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, on camels, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem, says Yahweh, just as the Israelites bring oblations in clean vessels to the house of Yahweh. Then I will choose priests and Levites even from them, says Yahweh.
This Sunday’s 2nd Reading is from Hebrews 12:5-7; 11-13.
Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children. My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when he punishes you. For the Lord corrects those he loves and chastises everyone he accepts as a son. What you endure, is in order to correct you. God treats you like sons, and what son is not corrected by his father?
All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later, it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness, to those who have been trained by it. Lift up, then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed.
Today’s Gospel is from Luke 13:22-30. It says: Jesus went through towns and villages teaching, and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?” And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter the narrow door; for many, I will tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has gone inside and locked the door, you will stand outside. Then you will knock at the door, calling, “Lord, open to us!” But he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know where you come from. Away from me, all you workers of evil.’
You will weep and grind your teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last, will be first, and some who are among the first, will be last!”
READ: In Isaiah, we hear of Yahweh making himself known to all nations, inviting them to see his glory, and performing wonderful things. The Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes the importance of correction is not pleasant, (but) its fruit is rewarding. The gospel tells of the requisite to be saved, that is, by entering the narrow door, which is Jesus.
REFLECT: There are fundamentally two things needed to be saved, namely, faith in Jesus and conversion to new life. They are the keys to enter the narrow door. They are the requisites to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Faith and conversion enable one to build a relationship with Jesus. Faith and conversion pose some difficulties to those who wish to follow Christ because they involve radical shift/change in one’s thinking and doing. They touch the core of our being so that we become open to the transforming action of the Spirit. Faith in Jesus would mean an absolute dependence in his love, compassion and mercy. Conversion to new life means redirecting our lives to a new way of living. It means discarding, or transforming our old ways, and incorporating beneficial and creative ways of thinking and acting. To many, the narrow door of Christ is a big challenge. But to those who have faith and have been converted to the love of God,
the narrow door “widens”.
N.B.: Our thanks to the Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc., publisher of the book Bible Diary 2019, from where we source the Word of God that we are sharing with our fellow faithful every Sunday of the year possible.