The human story is filled with broken dreams. Created in the image of God, we can fashion marvelous possibilities of success, fame and pleasure, and spend much of our time and effort trying to make at least some of these dreams come true. But along the way we will always encounter people or circumstances that will shatter those dreams.
The Gospel of Luke reminds us once again that we are "on the way to Jerusalem" with Jesus. It reminds us that this spiritual journey begins by entering the "narrow gate." Our journey is one where the guiding force in our lives ought to be the loving concern that took Jesus himself to the end of his career as he gave his life for us in Jerusalem. Luke is thinking about the true purpose of this human life that God has given us.
There are always moments when the dream fades and hopes are dimmed. Evil, suffering and death continue to burst the dreams of believers and many are tempted to walk away from the Lord and from his community of faith. But the Risen Savior continues to walk with us, to lead us back to the Scriptures for the answers, and to reveal Himself again to us in the breaking of the Bread.
As we make our way on this spiritual journey, we too must inevitably ask the question posed in today's gospel: "Lord, will we be among those who are saved? Are we among those who will make this journey successfully?" And Jesus answers our question with words that dispel any complacency that we may have been entertaining: "Strive to enter through the narrow gate." So we are told right up front that the journey won't be easy.
If we begin now to know and serve the Lord in the least of His brothers and sisters, to love Him in the poor, the outcast, the lonely and the sinner, then we will not be like those who "stand outside knocking" when once the master of the house "has arisen and locked the door." We will need not fear to hear him say: "I do not know where you are from." (Luke 13:25.)
People need to see us as a group of believers dedicated totally to hastening the coming of the kingdom of God. We must be recognized as peacemakers, as instruments of God's compassion and mercy. We must be known as people who not only pray together and offer meaningful worship to God, but also a people who work together for justice, who speak to truth, who feed the poor, who are concerned about the homeless and who defend the quality of our environment and the sanctity of life.
There is an urgency to this message. We cannot simply wait for God's promise of redemption to be fulfilled. Instead, we must be living as people who have already experienced the incredible goodness of God and who are called to be those who recognize the difficulties of entering through the narrow gate, but who do so nonetheless.
