Cycle C - Year II:  

21 August 2022: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time 

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 66:18-21

Second Reading:   Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Gospel:  Please Read  Luke 13:22-30 

The narrow door to God's Kingdom!

Sometimes life overwhelms us with challenges and it can be disheartening.  But Christians are optimistic people because we believe beyond the present realities to our eternal home in God's kingdom.

So that when we find ourselves in difficult situation, one practical way to deal with it is to go on living one day at a time, slowly, carefully, and deliberately, without being careless or in a rush. Our faith gives us the assurance that things will turn out alright in the end if we do not lose focus.

This Sunday's Gospel proclamation tells us that the path to the heavenly kingdom is likewise full of challenges and hardships. Our Lord Jesus warns us that we have to pass through the narrow door to enter the kingdom of God.

In the Gospel narrative, Jesus makes His way to Jerusalem. Someone from the crowd asks Him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Jesus replies that although many will attempt to enter heaven through the narrow gate, they will not be strong enough to persevere.     

Let us reflect on what the Lord is telling us.

The road of life in this world is wide, and many follow it because it is like a river of desires and pleasures.  In contrast, the road to heaven is narrow and difficult to follow because it demands following the Gospel in words and actions. It is tempting to stray from it with the so many distractions of this world. Jesus warns us that knowing the Lord and the Gospel is not enough. It is necessary to live the life that Jesus Himself lived and put His word into practice.

The Gospel passage is a wake up call for all Christians. While God's invitation is open to all, we tend to forget that salvation is realized according to God's terms and not merely our own interpretation of God's terms to be. In other words, just because we may claim to love God it doesn't necessarily mean that we actually love Him as He desires or expects to be loved when we are not sincere in our love with concrete actions. If we do not keep our whole life centered on and rooted in God, we can be led astray.

Let us heed seriously Jesus' warning that we can be excluded from entering the kingdom if we do not strive to enter by the narrow gate. And the door that Jesus is talking about is Himself. "I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved." (Jn 10:9) That is why the Gospel makes it clear that our destiny depends on the outcome of our encounter with Christ. For He is the means by which we will be saved.

It is our Lord Jesus Christ who opens the way for us to enter God's kingdom through the cross.  So we must follow our Lord in the way of the cross.  This means that to enter the kingdom of God one must struggle against the forces of temptation and whatever hinders us from doing the will of God in our lives, including apathy, indifference and compromises. But knowing our Lord Jesus Christ and having a good relationship with Him is at the heart of our faith.

The Good News is that we do not struggle alone, so let us not be discouraged. God Himself is with us and His grace is sufficient for us to enter into the narrow gate of heaven.

So today we learn that the pursuit of the kingdom of Heaven demands hard work, obedience and perseverance for those who believe.  Many start the walk on the road to salvation but few stay on it or persevere in the journey.  This is because the evil one is constantly setting obstacles in the path to holiness. 

Let us pray constantly for our faith to be strong and unwavering. Let us also pray for humility to see that God's kingdom is a gift which we have to accept with joy and gratitude, so that it may bear fruits in our daily lives.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!