Entering through the “Narrow Gate”

Homily: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time 

Luke 13: 22-30

20 August 2022

Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez, AA 

I saw this post claiming that Muhammad Ali used to say… “I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life a champion.” Malamang, kung hindi siya nagtiyaga, hindi siya magiging matagumpay. Hindi siya makikilala sa buong mundo, at iba na ang pangalan ng Alimall sa Cubao. 

Every student knows that to get through each day in school, one must exert effort. The more effort one exerts to study, to do one’s projects, to do well in exams, and to participate in class, the higher one’s grades are.  If one is consistent, one might even graduate with honours, right?  Lahat ng bagay na nais makamtan ay pinaghihirapan. Things don’t just fall onto your lap. We can’t just lie around like Juan Tamad, waiting for the guava to fall into our mouth. Going a step further, we can presume that something of greater value requires more effort to attain. Kung bibili ka ng kotse na nagkakahalagang P800,000, hindi ba’t mas mabilis mo itong mabibili kaysa kung ang halaga ng gusto mong kotse ay P10 million?  Dapat disiplinado ka sa gastusin mo at mahaba ang pasensiya mo kasi mas matagal mong pagtatrabahuan at iipunin ang pambili mo. 

Ang langit ba, para sa atin ay nais din nating makamtan sa dulo ng ating buhay? This is the ultimate dream for any Catholic Christian! We want to be in heaven with Jesus for eternity, right? For something of such great value, we have to expect that we will have to endure much in life to achieve it. Salvation is indeed a free gift from God, but anyone who desires to follow Jesus, still needs to make a long and difficult journey with Him to fullness of life. Every committed Christian would have to pass through what our gospel passage calls the “narrow gate”. It is a warning that the way through is not easy and many may be easily discouraged. The gate is open but not everyone will find it or squeeze through it. Claiming to be evangelized, to know and accept the Lord is not enough to enter into God’s Kingdom.  Ang pagsisilbi sa simbahan o paglilingkod sa Panginoon ay hindi katiyakan na makakarating sa langit. Not all the Jews in Jesus’ time were convinced He was the Messiah. They heard Him preach, they saw Him do miracles in their midst, they witnessed how He affected the lives of people, and yet it was not enough to be in Christ’s company or to have listened and followed Him. In the same way, our baptism and routine compliance with a few religious obligations will not be enough. Sasabihin nyo, “Grabe naman! Ang hirap naman.” Totoo! Hindi madali! To go through the “narrow gate” is to be actively committed to living the Gospel in one’s daily life. 

Jesus, Himself, suggests that entering this “narrow gate” is not as easy as we think. It entails picking up one’s cross in life every single day and bearing it with love, with trust in the Lord and with hope in His promise. We have to walk the path that Jesus has shown us. It is the path of living for others — of unconditional love and self-emptying for the sake of the Kingdom. In the context of faith, this gate is the exercise of self-denial and sacrificial love for others. Hindi ka makakadaan, kung sarili mo lang ang palagi mong iniisip. Yan ang kabalintunaan dito. Makitid na nga ang pintuan pero makakadaan ka lang kung inilalaan mo ang buhay mo para sa kapwa mo. The more you focus on squeezing only yourself through, the harder it will be for you.

In the readings, particularly the passage from the Letter to the Hebrews, the theme of athletic activity involving discipline is likened to the demands of discipleship that every Christian needs to endure. The athletes among us can attest that victory is sweetest after putting in long hours of practice, and suffering through countless cuts, bruises and muscle pains. There is pain involved in the training (gymnázō; English gym, where we train) but for those who persevere a future joy is assured. Furthermore, I have read that it is important to remember that “discipline does not mean punishment but rather instruction, or training for life.” Just as the suffering that the athletes have to endure are viewed by them as a form of discipline that is meant to make them strong and prepared for the competition. The reading also mentions parenthood and the role of fathers to discipline their children. Sigurado ako na ang mga magulang sa inyo na nakikinig ngayon ay makaka-relate. Hindi madaling magpalaki ng anak. Hindi sapat na pakainin, bihisan, at pag-aralin sila. Tungkulin din ng magulang na palakihin ng maayos, turuan ng tama, at sawayin ang mga mali nilang ginagawa. Bilang mga anak ng Diyos, asahan natin na itatama din ng Diyos Ama ang mali nating mga ginagawa. Sometimes, like your own children, we may be headstrong and persist in our errors. It is a constant struggle because more often than not, our own human will contradicts the will of God the Father. We are asked to live for heaven and not simply for the world. 

Finally, the Gospel encourages us to always strive to make an effort to follow the right path. Notice the words I used? STRIVE… EFFORT…  I do not say coast along or sail through it because we must expect the path to be difficult. It is observed that “one of the greatest causes of failure in life is the inability to make sacrifices.” The path may be difficult. It could be pretty rough and discouraging at times. But if we say “yes” to Jesus, we are promised fullness of life!