Cycle C Ordinary Time Week 21 Sunday

Isaiah 66:18-21; Psalms 117:1, 2; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13; Luke 13:22-30

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is a book that compiles the instructions of St.
Ignatius of Loyola to whoever is directing the spiritual retreat of a person or a group. And in
the preliminary notes, Ignatius defines the term “spiritual exercises” as “certain operations of
the mind and heart, such as the examination of conscience, meditation, contemplation, mental
and vocal prayer.” And Ignatius adds that just as taking a walk, journeying on foot, or
running around a track are bodily exercises, so we call Spiritual Exercises every way of
freeing the soul from its disordered attachments and so put it in the way of knowing and
embracing the will of God in our lives.
In other words, just as we need physical exercises to maintain a healthy body, so do we
need spiritual exercises to maintain a healthy spirit—a spirit that is free of disordered
attachments so that it could focus on God alone and in doing his will. And today’s readings
remind us of the importance of constant spiritual exercise.
In today’s Gospel, someone asks Jesus, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” The
question of who and how many will be saved has perhaps occurred to most, if not all of us, at
some point in our lives. This question perhaps captures the insecurity and anxiety we have
about getting to heaven and our own chances of being good enough and worthy of heaven.
But Jesus doesn’t give a precise answer; perhaps because the inquirer asks the wrong
question. Instead, Jesus says that the gate is wide open and everyone is given free entry into
the Kingdom. The gate, however, is narrow. In other words, rather than our trying to figure
how many will fit through this narrow gate, we should make sure that we will fit through
it. And how do we do this? Through the daily discipline of spiritual exercises.
Whenever we exercise, we always remind ourselves, “no pain, no gain.” Pain is necessary
so that we may be stronger. This is perhaps why Jesus advises that we must “[s]trive to enter
through the narrow gate, for many . . . will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
The Greek word for “strive”—agōnizomai, from which we also get the word “agony,” is used
to describe athletic training, the preparations that an athlete would do just before entering the
arena or stadium. Just as an athlete must gradually build up strength through daily
disciplined exercise, so spiritual fitness requires consistent effort and constant training that
we get through prayer, meditation, reflection or an examination of conscience.
We need to strive, agonize, exercise for as Jesus said many who attempt to enter “will not
be strong enough.” Striving though does not only mean suffering through difficulty; more
importantly it is strengthening our selves so we can run the race. Rather than focusing on the
pain, we fix our sights on what is to be gained—the Kingdom of God.
Today’s second reading from Hebrews also focuses on the discipline necessary to build up
spiritual strength. And Greek word that is translated as “discipline” actually means
“instruction and training for responsible living.” And how is this “training for responsible
living done”? The author makes an analogy between the training that a child receives from a
parent and the guidance God provides to deepen our spiritual life. The Greek word used here
means not so much punishment for wrongdoing but more as a training for life that we receive
especially through suffering. It is God, like a loving parent, teaching us good living, refining
our rough edges, helping us to learn from the difficulties and challenges in life that we must
face and guiding us in how to become stronger through them.
 The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that life itself can get rid of some of our rough
edges. These are the trials that it calls the discipline of the Lord. For example, it is hard to
be self-centered when there is someone at home who needs constant attention—a young child
or an aging parent. It is hard to be arrogant when a person is unemployed or weighed down
by so many debts or hit by illness. This is how life can put us in spiritual shape. Whether God
sends something into our life or allows it to happen, the person of faith knows that all these
challenges bring the grace to build spiritual muscle and make us ready to enter through the
narrow gate.
The first word of the Lord to us today is that when we are critical of the scandals about
which we read and how many people are failing to enter the door, we should make sure that
we are entering through the door ourselves. If we can fit through the door, the Lord says,
we can come right in. But, because the door is narrow, that means it takes effort to get in. We
must get rid of a great deal of baggage to enter, physical baggage like our wealth and
possessions and psycho-emotional baggage like our hatred, greed, or jealousy. We too have
to slim down, trim the excess fat lust, apathy, excess and a great deal of personal bloating that
weighs us down.
Can we fit through? Are we in spiritual shape? Or do we need to slim down our bloated
egos that are too proud of our status in our communities & workplaces, our titles, or the
power we have over others. Or perhaps we need to let go of baggage we bring through life
that weigh us down like our wealth and possessions, or even our grudges, hatred, greed, or
jealousy?
We know the big difference in our life when we are in physical shape. We become more
efficient, have more energy and think more clearly. The same thing happens when we get into
spiritual shape. The energies of the soul that we call the virtues are released. Our good
intentions are easier to follow through. Our prayer is deeper and easier. God’s will in our life
becomes clearer.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to
destruction. And many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads
to life, and only a few find it. – Matthew 7:13-14
How do we get rid of the rough edges that keep us from getting through the narrow gate?
Some people work at it. We call that the spiritual life. One of the great accomplishments of
human life is to use God’s grace to make ourselves more into the image of Christ through the
life of the Church. An accomplishment greater than any cathedral is a soul in union with God

In the gospel Jesus speaks about what can happen to those who do not put any effort into
“working out” spiritually. When the final moment comes, they will be on the outside pleading
to get in, thinking that just having been present where Jesus was teaching would be enough. It
is like someone who goes to the gym but only watches other people as they exercise. Such a
one is not known in the company of athletes or prepared to make it to the finish line, “the
narrow gate,” and it will be too late then to start training. Jesus returns to the original
question and, echoing the first reading from Isaiah, envisions masses of people from all
directions who will be included among those saved. We may be surprised by who gets there
first.

Even if we do not set out to do so intentionally, life itself or the grace of God present in all
the events of our life can prepare us for the Kingdom. The Catholic Church gives us the most
effective way of preparing ourselves for the Kingdom. Jesus did not come to set up one more
denomination among others but to be the Way, the Truth and the Life. “No one comes to the
Father but through me.” There is one Gospel, one Christ, one cross, one door. No one can
come to the Father except through Jesus Christ.
For us Catholics, in Christ the Word of God has become explicit and concrete. The truth for
which many grope, we have in word and sacrament. We have in the Church a reliable, Spirit-
guided teaching authority. We have “in the sacramental life of the Church seven places of
Christ’s assured presence. We have in the Church the gift of the Eucharist that nourishes
heart and mind. We have in the Church the word of God spoken, preached and shared day in
and day out. What others are searching out is laid open for us.
Whether we Catholics follow through on that opportunity and let the life of the Church
transform us is another question. The Lord says that to claim a right to enter through the door
because we ate and drank with Him, because we bear His name, because we are in His
Church, because we have heard His words are not enough. People can say that they went to a
Catholic school, sang in the choir, said many prayers every day, sat through many tedious
sermons, but the question is whether we were changed by all that. If not, the Lord will say, “I
don’t know you.”
It’s so easy for our religion to become a veneer almost like aluminum siding for the soul that
hides deterioration within. It can keep us from changing our life. The issue is whether the
wonderful opportunities we have in the Church are changing “our life and helping us enter
the Kingdom. We can too easily substitute devotions for discipleship. We can say many
prayers, sing many songs, but never let the word of God deep enough inside to change our
life.
This Gospel reading about the door carries some searching challenges for each of us. Rather
than considering how many will enter the door of the Kingdom, are we entering through the
door? Are we becoming fit for entry by our spiritual life? Are we using the opportunities and
graces given us in the Church or are we only multiplying the motions of religion as a
substitute for the very real conversion that must take place?
God speaks in some way to the life of every person. To some people it is a haunting and
distant echo. For us in the Church God’s word is loud and clear. Salvation is not a matter of
hearing God’s word but of following it. Through following that word, we will fit through the
door that, although narrow, is the portal to the wide open spaces of God’s life forever.”