Good morning, Good People,
May the Lord give you peace, health and happiness in the Holy Spirit. It is 24th August 2025. We celebrate the 21st Sunday in Ordinary time. We reflect on Isaiah 66:18-21; Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 and Luke 13:22-30.
Are we Christians? How many have we brought closer to Christ and Christianity by our discipline and love in action?
The cost of our disciple is the suffering, and the door is Jesus himself. “If anyone enters through me will have eternal life.” (John 10:9)
When St. Francis Xavier was sent as a missionary to India, Japan, and the Far East, he tirelessly proclaimed Christ to those who had never heard of Him. He wrote to his companions in Europe: “So many people here are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.”
Can we continue to be a disciple of Christ without Discipline?
It is not competition but competence and completion that the Lord is looking from each one of us.
The path to life is narrow, the path to destruction is wide.
The way of righteousness is narrow, yet it is the way that leads to eternal life.
In the first reading, from the prophet Isaiah, we hear the promise of hope.
Those carried away as slaves to Babylon will return.
They will come to know who the Lord truly is, and they shall become His very own possession.
The letter to the Hebrews reminds us of something most of us would rather avoid — suffering.
But suffering is not punishment. It is discipline.
God is our Father, and we are His children.
Every trial is given so that we may be corrected, purified, and drawn closer to Him.
And so, the question arises:
Are we Christians only in name?
Or are we truly walking the narrow way, searching for salvation?
In the Gospel, someone asks Jesus:
“Lord, will only a few be saved?”
But Jesus does not satisfy curiosity.
Instead, He tells us plainly what we must do if we desire to be saved.
What then is this narrow door?
Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
The Greek word agonizomai (“strive”) suggests effort, discipline, even struggle.
It is to live with complete trust in Jesus. That is the narrow way. But let us not be like Chorazin or Capernaum, who refused to believe.
- It is to be people of prayer.
- It is to renounce sin and live uprightly.
- It is to carry a heart that offers even the smallest kindness with sincerity.
- It is to live in humility. For as Jesus says: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
St. Paul tells us in Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
But for those who boast that their Christian life is higher than that of others, this narrow way will feel almost impossible.
So, the great questions echo before us today:
Who then can be saved?
Have you received salvation?
Or are you living as one already saved?
Beloved, salvation means eternal life.
This life we now live is fleeting, fragile, temporary.
But beyond it lies the eternal life that God has prepared for us.
And to reach it, we must endure the narrow way — a life full of trials and obstacles, but one that leads to heaven.
The narrow way is a straight way. It is the honest way.
It demands dedication, sacrifice, labour, and a generous heart.
Only such effort allows us to press through the narrow gate.
For the Jews who thought salvation belonged to them alone, the surprise was great: even the Gentiles are invited into God’s plan.
The Lord Himself declares: “I am coming to gather all nations and tongues; they shall come and see My glory.”
Time has come for us to enter the narrow gate and continue to be a witness for the Lord.
May God bless you abundantly.