The Gospel this weekend begins with the question that is asked a number of times across the gospels – and one that each of us may have asked in our own spiritual journey: “Lord, will only a few be saved? Or better said – who is going to heaven and who is going to hell?! To which Jesus answers: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” In those days the narrow gates were the side doors of the walled city where you could enter. They were less exposed and less visible allowing occupants to come and go inconspicuously. So, what does the ‘narrow gate’ look like for you and me today? Once we figure that out, how does that begin to tell us who wins the ticket to heaven and who doesn’t? This complicated Gospel sounds more like a message of exclusion rather than inclusion. So, which is it and what does it mean for each of us? Check it out…

1. DeaconJimKnipper 1
21 August 2022 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time Princeton, NJ
This weekend’s Gospel from Luke concludes the three-week series we have been listening
to each weekend of the teachings by Christ as it relates to salvation…and how one should
live…and the choices one must make.
But before diving into this somewhat complicated Gospel, the groundwork is set for us in
the first reading from Isaiah which comes from the concluding lines of that book. For Isaiah
says that what’s happening to the Jewish people is not just for them but for everybody.
That it is not to be a tribal religion but a universal religion which is why, early in the second
century this new group of Christians were already calling themselves Catholic – which
means universal. They recognized that what they were doing was not for any one group in
particular, but for all people.
Turning to the Gospel, biblical scholars indicate that this passage was created by the
author taking bits and pieces from the other gospels in order to weave together this
sermon Jesus gives to a crowd of mostly Jews, making this Gospel a bit more difficult to
break open. It begins with the question that is asked a number of times across the gospels
– and one that each of us may have asked in our own spiritual journey: Who will be saved?
For in today’s setting, the crowd listening to Jesus assumed that since they were all devout
Jews and part of the ‘chosen ones’ that they all would get a free ride to heaven.
It reminds us of the story of the Rich Young Man that we heard a few weeks ago who
asked basically the same question we heard today – what does one have to do to inherit
the Kingdom of God? He tells Jesus that he has followed all the rules and kept all of the
commandments. And Jesus tells him that he then must sell all that he has and give it to the
poor – in essence shed all that he holds onto. And we are told that the man walked away
sad. Jesus then tells his disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle that for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God.
Today’s gospel replaces the eye of the needle with a narrow gate. In those days the
narrow gates were the “side doors” of the walled city where you could enter. They were
less exposed and less visible allowing occupants to come and go inconspicuously. But
with the entrance being so narrow it prevented anyone who passed through from carrying
any wealth or belongings with them. So, we hear today, Jesus encouraging his followers to
strive to enter through the narrow gate. Or in other words, to take your spiritual journey
seriously and to let go of all you hold onto.
So then, what is our modern day “narrow gate?” Or in other words, what motivates us each
day when we wake up? Is our focus on our personal criteria of who's right and who's
wrong…and who's going to heaven and who's going to hell…wondering if only a few of us
will make it? Or every morning, is the first question that comes to mind, all about how can I
be as loving as possible today? Because, my sisters and brothers, that is the narrow gate
we are faced with each day.

2. DeaconJimKnipper 2
But then this gospel, tells us that, "Many will attempt to enter, but will not be strong
enough. The master will lock the door." Now the Gospel sounds more like a message of
exclusion rather than inclusion. So, which is it? To answer that, I turn to one of the best
and most helpful lines given by several saints, who say, "No one is going to hell unless
they want to. God condemns no one to hell unless they choose to live in hatred and evil
and disharmony. It's always our choice." For the love in me knows love…and hate in me
will see hate everywhere else. If there is no love in you and you are filled with fear and
hatred, then how can you ever really know God?
For God is never kicking us out, rather we only kick ourselves out. If you want to go to
heaven, or in other words, if you want to live in love, you will live in love, but it's your
decision and that's the narrow gate we face. It was Pope John Paul II who said, "When will
Catholics realize that heaven and hell are not geographical places, they're states of
consciousness?" If that's true, it means if you want to be miserable, hateful, negative,
oppositional, and regularly exclude other races and other religions and others who are
different from you, then that's hell right now.
So this means that you and I must choose right now – and continue to make a choice
every day. Do we want to live in love and communion with God and our neighbor or do we
want to live in a constant fight? All we have to do is just listen to the politics of our times,
especially as we near mid-term elections, where we are told how to fight, how to be angry,
how to be hateful, how to tell lies...and who to exclude and who is unworthy…all in order to
make ourselves supposedly worthy…and for our group to win. That's seems like hell to me
and many people seem to enjoy living there.
For Jesus seems to be saying it's not about belonging to the right group rather it's about
having the right attitude, the right consciousness which crosses all boundaries of people
where, using the words from Matthew, we feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and
care for the sick. Because if our focus is just on what I need to do for my personal
salvation then we may be faced with great regret when we recognize how wrong we were
and how deeply we missed the point of this Gospel, which Jesus describes as wailing and
grinding of teeth when we see everybody else moving through the narrow gate, but
ourselves.
In other words, be ready to be surprised about who is living a life of love and of service and
who isn't. Which is all summed up in the great and final punchline, "Remember, many who
appear to be last will be first….and the first will be last." So, we need to stop asking that
the proverbial question of who's going to heaven and who's going to hell. It's not your
concern nor mine. That's the work of God – which Isaiah reminds us, “the God who knows
your works and your thoughts and will gather all nations to come and see God’s glory!”
End Note: Thanks to my friend Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM for his wisdom embedded in this homily.