“No misfortune should distract us from this happiness and deep joy; for if anyone is anxious to reach a destination, the roughness of the road will not make him change his mind.”  – Pope St. Gregory the Great

Luke 13:22-35: Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, ‘Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself knocking on the door, saying, Lord, open to us, but he will answer, I do not know where you come from. Then you will find yourself saying, We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets, but he will reply, I do not know where you come from. Away from me, all you wicked men! Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves turned outside. And men from east and west, from north and south, will come to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. Yes, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’

Just at this time some Pharisees came up. ‘Go away,’ they said. ‘Leave this place, because Herod means to kill you.’ He replied, ‘You may go and give that fox this message: Learn that today and tomorrow I cast out devils and on the third day attain my end. But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! So be it! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you say: Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!’

Christ the Lord  Christ alone is the Lord of life and history. There is only one eternal banquet, only one eternal Kingdom, and it is his. He came to earth in order to tell us about it, and to blaze a trail that would lead us to it. And he doesn’t want to leave anyone out of it – which is why he speaks so vehemently about its importance in passages like this – but neither will he force us into it. He is the Lord, and he invites us to follow him, but he will respect our response to his invitation. This is why we should respond with great care.

Christ himself is the way to salvation and fulfillment. Salvation comes from actually following him, from striving to know him better and from obeying his teaching. This is the narrow door, because he is demanding. It is possible to be labeled a Christian on the outside without really making an effort to follow the Christian way in our hearts, or to go to Church and be seen frequently at the parish without ever really entering into a committed, life-changing, personal relationship with Christ. It may be comfortable for a while, but in the end only those who have followed the Lord will be welcomed to the banquet.

Christ the Teacher  This innocent question, “Will only a few people be saved?” afforded Christ the perfect opportunity to tell everyone, “Relax – all you have to do is be a good guy, more or less, and you’ll get to heaven.” But he didn’t. He told us to “try your best” to enter into his Kingdom, because “many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Certainly, the Church teaches that without the help of divine grace no one can live in eternal friendship with God, but Jesus is emphasizing here that we each must do our part as well. If we settle for a comfortable, self-satisfying Christianity, we may be deceiving ourselves – instead of building up God’s Kingdom, we may, in fact be erecting an idolatrous house of cards. The spiritual life is a battle, as the Church never tires of telling us, and we are not to take victory for granted. The entrance door is “narrow,” and the Lord will refuse entry altogether to “wicked men” – even those who thought they were good. Bottom line: Salvation matters, and it’s not just a consolation prize.

Christ the Friend Because Christ is a true friend, he sees the heart. Many times those who seem great or holy by the world’s standards are filled with selfishness and arrogance, while those whom the world despises are filled with humility and wisdom. But Jesus will correct this injustice: “There are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.” Christ sees each of us as we truly are, and warns us not to trust in appearances – neither our own appearance of righteousness, nor others’ appearance of dishonor. If we trust only in Christ, in his goodness and love, we will learn to see as he sees, and when judgment day comes, we won’t have to worry about any surprises.

But Jesus knows that many will indeed reject him, including the leaders of Jerusalem who fear losing their privilege and power. His expression of how much their rejection pains him shows his yearning for our friendship. We can picture him looking towards Jerusalem, the earthly center of God’s saving action for so many centuries, soon to become the stage of the Atonement itself (Christ’s passion and resurrection). Then a sigh of yearning escapes him, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often I have longed…!” When we look at our own lives and our often tepid or even rebellious responses to God’s invitations, we can see him sighing in the same way over us. Just as a hen cannot help gathering her brood – it’s built into the very fiber of her being – so God cannot help desiring our companionship. But if we refuse it, we too will be left on our own, and just as the unwelcoming earthly Jerusalem will soon be completely destroyed, so those without God will lose even the little happiness they think they have – not because God shut the door, but because they chose not to go through it when they could.

Christ in My Life I want to be with you for your eternal banquet, and I know you want me to be there too. You want everyone to be there! What more can I do to bring others into your friendship? What can I do to deepen my friendship with you? Teach me to try my best to enter the narrow door. In the end, nothing else matters…

Why do people think and talk so little about what is sure to happen to us all, death and judgment? Why do people think it’s a sign of weakness to look forward to heaven and to live on earth in such as way as to prepare for heaven? I know that earth is not heaven, and I know I need you to lead me to the fulfillment I long for. Never let me separated from you, Lord…

It should bother me more that so many people reject you. Lord, my heart is still contracted and selfish. Pour your Spirit into my soul and fill me with your love. Real love, deep love, self-forgetting love – that’s what you lived, that’s what you taught, that’s what I was made for. With the love of your heart, inflame my heart…

PS: This is just one of 303 units of Fr. John’s fantastic book The Better Part. To learn more about The Better Part or to purchase in print, Kindle or iPhone editions, click here. Also, please help us get these resources to people who do not have the funds or ability to acquire them by clicking here.

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Art: Cover of The Better Part used with permission. Detail of Old Jerusalem, Ararat Street, Green door mini, brionv, 9 August 2011, CCA-SA 2.4 Generic, Wikimedia Commons.