“Strive to enter the narrow gate.”
This is Jesus’ response to the question if only a few are being saved. Strive
to enter the narrow gate.
When I was a younger man I used to
get out and run. I even entered a few 10 k races. I didn’t just decide to run a
race one day and sign up for it, I had to start training. My father worked for
the Toledo Blade. After he died I decided to run in the next Blade 10 k in his
memory. I was living by Ottawa Park and I would get out every morning and run
before I went to work. At first it was agony. I would be out of breath, my feet
and legs hurt, I would get pains in my side, but I was determined to run in
that 10 k so I kept running. After a while I learned to pace myself. I had
better control of my breathing, my feet and legs became conditioned, and I no
longer would get pains in my side—but it was still a workout.
It was finally the day of the 10 K. I
had no illusions that I was going to win, but I knew I was going to finish
because I knew I could do it. After the race started and everyone began to find
their pace, I found a companion who was running at my pace and we kept up with
each other until we crossed the finish line.
Why did I just tell you about my running
a race? The Greek word used in the gospel for “strive” is agonizomai and it means “to train for the race.” In last week’s
passage from Hebrews when the author exhorts us to persevere in running the
race with our eyes fixed on Jesus, he uses the Greek word agona for race. It is
where the word agony comes from. Strive to enter the narrow gate.
Why would Jesus say that? In the
opening lines of the passage we see that Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem.
He already knows what to expect there-betrayal, humiliation, suffering, and
death. It is his narrow gate. He is responding to the Pharisees who think their
entry into heaven is guaranteed by the privilege of being descendants of
Abraham. He sees that they are not serious followers. If they were-they would
already be heading to the narrow gate. They would have turned their lives
around, and they would be following the commandments to love God with their
whole being, and to love their neighbor as they love themselves.
The Pharisees were content to listen
to Jesus, to eat and drink with him, but not to commit their lives to him. They
followed rules and they wanted to know what the rules were so they could follow
them. They did not want to give up the privilege and comfort to which they were
accustomed. They did not want to “train for the race.” In a sense, Jesus is
telling them to get moving before the gate is barred.
How about us? Are we content to say: “I’m
baptized. I’m a Catholic. I follow the rules.” Or are we up to the call to
follow Jesus, to strive for the narrow gate to “train for the race? “ What effort are we willing to make to enter
the narrow gate? The cost of entry is love—love of God and love of neighbor. We
must be willing to change ourselves in order to live out the Gospel. We should
not assume a sense of privilege that results in a place in the kingdom.
What steps should we take to begin
our training? Jesus meets us where we are. He knows our strengths and
weaknesses. He is our trainer, he shows us the way. Our daily encounters with
family, friends, co-workers, and even the stranger on the street give us the
opportunities to begin our training. As we become stronger we become more able
to endure more challenging situations.
As we celebrate this Eucharist today
let us be mindful that it is part of our training with Jesus, and he is about
to offer us the Banquet of Champions so that we may go and strive to enter the
narrow gate.
No comments:
Post a Comment