Is 66:18-21
Ps 117:1, 2
Heb 12:5-7, 11-13
Lk 13:22-30
Today, our Lord, in no uncertain terms tells us about the very narrow gateway to heaven. The people ask Him, Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He doesn’t give a definite answer but basically tells us the outlook does not look good. Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many… will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. It is not like we can barge through the gates of heaven or run so hard that there is a cartoon cutout of the shape of our bodies in the clouds. I think for some of us it’s gonna be like us trying to catch that subway as the doors are closing. When Jesus says that there is “a narrow gate”, that means that heaven some people are gonna be left out and we don’t need to be looking at others to see who, we just have to worry about looking at the mirror. I’m going to be frank about this: Heaven is exclusive. This narrow gate is going to be a “close call” and I don’t want to be unprepared.
We sing songs about inclusivity, we preach about welcoming and inclusion, but the bottom line is this: heaven is exclusive. Jesus does not say that “he is a way, a truth, and a life”; He says that is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. When we sing the song “All are Welcome”, I find it is not a completely honest message. Yes, we do welcome all – because God calls all people to Himself – heaven was and is for all of us. He says in Isaiah today, … I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory… But there must be a complete and total conversion to Him to enter into our heavenly reward. Sin and vice must be rooted out, virtue must be practiced, and a complete and total reliance on God. This is a daily task for each and every one of us, including myself. This journey did not stop when you got baptized, when you were confirmed, or even when you started being parents. Nobody’s journey is complete until the day we die and even then we pray that the work of purgatory will be quickly completed in us. All are called, many will answer and hear, but few will actually enter.
We hear in the Gospel: Lord, we ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets! This shows just how close we can be to Him and STILL miss the mark!! You come here every Sunday to eat and drink with Him, I preach to you, and then you go home feeling all warm and fuzzy. One day you die and you go up to the gate and the door is slammed in your face. God says to you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers! [Wow ouch!]
One may ask, Well is there any hope for us? [If even Fr. Reuben is worried about his salvation, then there’s no way I’m gonna be saved.] Where is the silver lining in this dark cloud? Let’s look at our second reading from Hebrews for some consolation. My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges. In other words, if He didn’t love us, He wouldn’t give us such a hard time. The fear of the pains of Hell – the wailing and gnashing of teeth – is our ultimate deterrent from the habits of sin and vice; and we would do well to listen. There is also the message of peace and love from God, but sometimes it fails to soften our hardened hearts. But everybody understands pain and suffering and if that is not enough for us to change and be converted, then I fear there is little hope for them.
My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, when we come here every Sunday to celebrate this Divine Liturgy, this Holy Mass, we are doing more than just eating and drinking and having “community” and “communion”; we are standing at the gate of heaven. Something that is lost in our modern age is the notion of ritual sacrifice. In times of old Jews and Pagans alike would sacrifice meat and offerings to their gods – it was something bloody and necessary and afterwards a meal would be shared. When Christ came, He completed a once and for all Sacrifice: all of the sacrifices are now rolled into His! This was so that we may have a perpetual wedding banquet for all eternity. He is the groom and the Church is the bride. We enjoy this wedding feast every time we celebrate the Holy Mass, but quite often we forget the sacrificial part which allows this celebration to happen. We must remember what has happened; and change our hearts – pick up our cross and follow Him. We cannot just enjoy the fruit of the harvest without working right there with Him in His vineyard. Strive to enter the narrow gate – to enter into His passion and death – so that we might decrease and He might increase – to forsake the temptations of the world and turn to Him. Then and only then can we have true “communion” with Him. Our “Communion” with Him is not just in the Eucharist, but in every single aspect of our lives: from the grocery store, to the mall, to the road, and especially in the house. We do not just sing and laugh and have a good time on Sunday and then resume our hedonistic ways the rest of the week; because that is for the hypocrites that will not be entering through the narrow gate. No, we are better than that and we are called to more.
What kinds of sacrifices in your life have you brought to the altar of God? How are you communing with God at this narrow gate? If you have not done well this week or even today, then it’s time to change – go to the sacrament of Reconciliation – and make a fresh start. Unite your sacrifices with His, allow Him to be the leader, so that you may be the true Bride to the Bridegroom that is Christ. Only then will the words we ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets, not be a statement to condemn ourselves in our hypocrisy, but a declaration of true communion. Because we will have remembered what He did for us and what we do for Him as we eat His flesh and drink His blood in the Holy Eucharist.
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