"Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” Jesus replied, Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail."
Gospel of Luke
In the Gospel of Luke, we hear a very interesting question asked to Jesus as He journeys towards Jerusalem. Jesus doesn't really answer the question but encourages the person to try to enter by the narrow door. So what is this narrow door that Jesus speaks about, the door that many will try to enter, but not succeed?
In order to figure out what this narrow door is, we must turn to Jesus Himself. We must examine His life and see how He lived. How did He live differently from the many other people of His time?
Our reflection will lead us to St. Paul's letter to the Philippines which for me helps to describe this narrow door. "Although Jesus was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking a form of a slave."
To empty oneself can be a difficult concept to explain, little long to live. It goes against what we are ordinarily inclined to do when left to our limited human resources. Emptying ourselves of "self" is not what our culture portrays as the "thing to do". The emphasis of our culture is to look after "self", get what is fair for "self", and in many cases, to exalt "self", often through the vehicles of power, recognition and prestige. But this is not Jesus' way. It is not what He portrays as narrow door that leads to the Father.
To empty "oneself" is not putting "oneself" down, to be used as a doormat by others; but a knowing of who we are before God. This means we know God's plan for us and for humanity, and we freely embrace this as a way of life. When we do this, we live in harmony with God's plan and accept where this may lead us. Jesus' life and our relationship with Him becomes the narrow door that we embrace.
But it is not enough just to know this. We must live it. "When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But He will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And He will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from."
In the story that Jesus told, many knew of Him. It is said that they ate and drank with Him, listened to His teachings on the street. But because it wasn't a lifestyle they adopted, when they knocked on the door, they were not recognized.
So this presents a real challenge. Many who may seem to be on the right road may not be at all, and many who, at first glance, may seem to be lost are in fact walking by the right path. The right path can only be discovered through prayer.
The other day, I read what Pope Benedict had recently said about prayer. "Prayer is an open window that allows us to keep our gaze turned towards God, not only for the purpose of reminding us of the goal towards which we are directed, but also to allow the will of God to illumine our earthly journey and to help us to live it with intensity and commitment."
Is he not describing the narrow door?
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