Reflection for Sunday 24th August, 2025

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Get your focus right (Luke 13:22-30)

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Someone came up to him and asked, “Sir, will there be only a few saved?” (Luke 13:22-30). It’s very likely that the questioner was a Jew who believed that only Jews had any chance of getting to heaven. Many of us grew up convinced that only Roman Catholics would be saved. Others say that only those who have the experience of being born again will be saved, or that they are already saved.

At the end of today’s Gospel, Jesus gives his answer to the questioner. Salvation will not be limited to one race or one religion. People will come from east and west, from north and south, to take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. And, surprise, surprise, many who are now considered to be last will in fact be first, whereas those who now think they are first will be last.

Come Holy Spirit, direct us in the journey of life. Help us to keep our lives on the road to our eternal salvation.

Enter by the narrow door

What can we do about it? The advice of Jesus was, “Try to enter by the narrow door.” The narrow door does not mean being narrow-minded. It means being focused: having a clear idea of where you want to go and how you plan to get there. Be like the free-taker, the archer or the golfer who must focus on the target. The archer shuts one eye so as to eliminate distractions. The old Greek word for sin means missing the target. If you don’t aim to go somewhere you will end up going anywhere, and there is no guarantee that this will be a good place. Nowadays we meet people who want to be spiritual but not religious: to believe but not to belong: or to use God but not to listen to God. The target of life demands commitment. The young people of the digital age think in a new way. Quoting David N. Hempton writing in The Tablet: “We have never been more globally connected, yet perhaps never so personally disconnected.” Again, he says: “There are more choices of religion but less reliable sources of information.” It’s an age of misinformation. Are people aiming at the right target?

The permissive culture of today

The permissive culture of today resents being subjected to rules and dogmas. Don’t put in on my freedom! It is my right to choose! Life has become a succession of disconnected moments with no big picture to frame all together. There is no backbone to life and all hope can collapse in the face of a single crisis. It is significant that in this permissive age we hear of boredom, inertia, depression, chemical dependence and suicide. One moment of crisis and everything collapses. Faith gives us the big picture of where we have come from, where we are going, and how to get there. We have come from God our Creator, and life is a journey of returning to God. Jesus once called himself the door. Focus on his way and enter by the narrow door. As we heard last Sunday, “Fix your eyes on Jesus, the beginner of our faith and the one who leads it to perfection.”

The road to salvation

“Try your best to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you many will try to enter and will not succeed.” Jesus linked that heavenly invitation to the practical works of charity … feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving a cup of water, visiting the sick … because the way we treat other people is the real test of true faith. The Letter of Saint James is very clear on this: “As a body without a spirit is dead, so is faith without good deeds” (James 2:26). Saint John’s Letter asks how can we love God whom we have never seen if we do not love the people that we do see.

Are you producing the fruits of the Spirit?

How can you judge if you have entered through the narrow door of discipleship? One good way is to ask if you are producing the fruits of the Spirit more than the fruits of self-indulgence. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (5:22) has a list of nine fruits.
Three fruits express our relationship with God: love, joy and peace.
A Spirit-filled relationship with other people can be seen in three other fruits: patience, kindness and goodness.
The final three fruits are signs of a strong inner life: trustfulness, gentleness (particularly being gentle with yourself) and self-control.
These beautiful virtues are a living proof that a person is cooperating with the Holy Spirit in a life that is focused on the narrow door to salvation.
“And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we have started
And know the place for the first time.” (T.S.Eliot)

Prayer

Come Holy Spirit, direct us in the journey of life. Help us to keep our lives on the road to our eternal salvation.