A story is told about the narrow gate to the Kingdom of Heaven in which an elderly person died and went to heaven. He meets St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalene (yes, there is equal opportunity in heaven) who were the gatekeepers.
“Where is your ticket to get into heaven?” asked Saint Peter.
“Ticket? I didn’t know I needed a ticket,” responded the man, who was completely puzzled.
“Oh, yes,” said, Saint Mary Magdalene. “Since you don’t have a ticket, tell us what good you have done in your life?”
He thought and thought and finally responded. “One time, I did go to church, and I put five dollars in the collection.”
“What else?” asked Peter.
“That is about all I can think of,” replied the man.
Peter and Mary Magdalene went to check with God. After talking it over, they returned to the narrow gate and informed the man, “We decided to give you your five dollars back and you can go to hell.”
Luke’s Gospel reading this week is not meant to be a scare tactic but rather a cautioning by Jesus Himself concerning the possibility of being shut out of eternal life. Jesus’ warning to us can send chills up and down our spines.
When Jesus was asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” that person opened a can of worms. Notice how Jesus didn’t answer with a simple “Yes” or “No.” The answer Jesus gave is not comforting. He said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
Narrow gates are as common in our daily lives as they were at the time of Jesus.
When Jesus spoke about a narrow gate, he was heading towards Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem was surrounded by one huge defensive wall with limited and narrow gates to get into the city. The gates were so narrow and low that a camel could not pass through without the rider getting off the camel and unloading everything. Even the camel had to get down on its knees to travel through the narrow gate.
The image of a narrow gate made sense to the people of his time. Perhaps Jesus would have used the imagery of the narrow gate at an airport security checkpoint if He were answering that question in our time. Or think about the last time you left Lake Tahoe for San Francisco and crossed the Bay Bridge or the Golden Gate Bridge; several lanes of traffic are made to merge into one. Bottlenecks are a common occurrence in most of our lives.
If you have ever been to Disney Parks or a professional football or baseball stadium for a game, you are very much aware of how the gates are wide open and then they narrow down into one line eventually leading to a single turnstile. It is at the turnstile that you must enter by yourself. Without a ticket you don’t get into the park or the stadium.
Jesus makes it truly clear that the same is true for getting into the eternal kingdom.
So, what is the ticket to getting into the eternal kingdom? You have been warned. Do not think you can just slip through the gates.
In today’s gospel, Jesus tells the story about the owner of a house who had locked his doors while people were knocking and pleading to be let in. The people outside are desperately trying to remind the master of the house that they are his old buddies, his good friends, the ones with whom they ate and drank. The owner’s response, “I don’t know where you are from.”
I think these are the most frightening words in the Sacred Scriptures: “I don’t know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.” I definitely don’t want Jesus to say that to me!
It takes more than being a casual acquaintance of Jesus to enter the narrow gates of the kingdom. Eating and drinking with Him on weekends does not necessarily mean that I have a personal relationship with Him. There is a substantial difference between being acquainted with Jesus and having a personal relationship with Jesus.
As with any relationship, you choose how close you want to be with someone. It is a choice only you can make. To have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you make a deliberate choice to have that relationship. The choice is guided by trust, faith and love. It is an intentional choice, a well-thought-out choice. You make this choice over and over. It is lived out in our daily prayer, going to Mass and reconciliation, studying the Scriptures, performing acts of kindness, mercy and forgiveness, sharing your faith with others, promoting justice, caring for the environment and more.
St. John Paul II said, “It is necessary to awaken again in believers a full relationship with Christ. Only from a personal relationship with Jesus can an effective evangelization develop.”
I see Jesus challenging us to strive to build a deep, personal and loving relationship with Him, not just that of an acquaintance. This personal relationship demands discipline because we give ourselves completely to Him.
In our Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrew’s, Paul knows what is needed to get through the narrow gates. The ticket for him is to have discipline.
The Greek word for discipline means training. No athlete makes a team without discipline. No marriage works without discipline. No student makes the grade without discipline.
When I was at the pool the other day I heard one of the swimmers say, “I would give my life to be able to swim like those Olympians.” My response, “That is exactly what they have done.” Discipline is what makes an athlete. You give it your all, day after day. Successful athletes avoid eating the wrong food, stay with their daily exercise routine and are faithful in getting to their practices.
With the football season almost upon us, we will see players who have disciplined themselves with strength, endurance and power training, to prepare them for the next five months. Their individual and team workouts have not been easy but are necessary if they are to enter through the narrow gate to a college championship or the Super Bowl. Winning the Super Bowl or an Olympic medal doesn’t happen without years of internal discipline.
We need discipline not only for our physical workouts but even more so in our spiritual lives. Self-discipline is a primary characteristic of our personal spiritual life. We need discipline to pray daily, to mediate on the Sacred Scriptures and receive the Eucharist weekly. It is easy to talk the talk of faith, but it is another story to walk the walk of faith.
For many of us, discipline isn’t something we desire. It is usually painful; it limits what we can do now and it limits our spontaneity.
As disciples with discipline will be able to pray and live:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
That is why we build up our spiritual strength. It is why we train and discipline ourselves. It is why we receive the Eucharist, go to confession often and pray every day. Do not expect to get through the narrow gate if you are not spiritually strong.
To grow in our relationship with God, we need inner discipline so everything doesn’t center on ourselves. We must be spiritually disciplined as well as physically disciplined. We cannot be bloated with our own excessive pride, earthy pleasures or excessive baggage. We will not get through the narrow gate.
Please, God do not let any of us ever hear these words from you when we reach the narrow gate, “Give him his five bucks back and let him go to hell.” Or “I don’t know you; away from me.”
You have been warned again, this time by Luke Chapter 13.
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