“Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, ‘Lord, will only a few be saved?’” (Lk 13:22-23). Most people today would put that question this way: Are only a few people going to heaven?
Do any of us ever worry about our loved ones, whether they’ll be saved from sin or not, or what will happen to them after death? It concerns me. If it doesn’t concern you yet, I’d gently encourage you to be more concerned because Jesus today teaches that salvation is not easy. However, based on what He says today, let’s focus on a solution: telling others about Him.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able’” (13:23-24). Jesus doesn’t give an answer to numbers, how many are going to heaven, how many aren’t. He focuses, instead, on the way we enter eternal life. The ‘narrow door’ refers to three things:
1) It refers to Him (Cf. Jn 10:7,9). We come to eternal life not through being a good person because eternal life is about being in a relationship with God; and we don’t come to eternal life by following Mohammed, Buddha, Confucius, or indigenous spiritualities—now, some ideas taught by them are true, but we only come to eternal life through Jesus. Three years ago, I said there are two reasons I don’t believe in or love Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius, etc. First, I don’t believe that everything they taught was entirely correct. Second, none of them has done anything for me. None of them ever loved me enough to die for me. Only Jesus died and rose for me; only He forgives my sins and showed me that God is my Father.
2) The ‘narrow door’ refers to letting go of false gods. Jesus says, ‘Many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.’ For example, one false god we have to let go of is pride. To be in a relationship with God means we need to be humble. Two weeks ago, Simpson Ma shared his testimony and said he didn’t feel worthy to become Catholic—that’s true, none of us are worthy of becoming part of God’s family, and that’s humbling. We have to let go of our pride and self-sufficiency. There’s a part in all of us that wants to be in control of our lives and not rely completely on God. What Simpson shared is important for others to hear: If he can experience God’s love and let down his guard, then others can also. Everyone who comes to Jesus has to admit, ‘I can’t save myself. Only You can save me.’ Let’s tell other people: We, too, had to learn to surrender. We admitted: We rely on God because He’s our Father.
3) The ‘narrow door’ refers to the fact that we have to follow Jesus’ commandments in order not to lose the gift. Think about adoption. If there were a group of orphans, could they say to a man and woman, ‘You have to adopt us?’ No. It’s a free gift. Have they earned the right to live in the house of that man and woman? No. So, why would that man and woman choose to adopt them? Because they’re full of love.
Now, once they’re adopted, why do mom and dad love them? Because of what the children do? No, because they are their parents’ children. However, as the children grow up, they can disobey and lose the gift. If they freely choose to act against their parent’s commandments, they can push themselves away from their parents and eventually leave the family. So, the narrow door means avoiding committing mortal sins, which kills the life of God within us.
Now, let’s repeat a quiz we’ve done twice before, the last time being September 15, 2024. If you’ve done this quiz before, a passing grade is four out of four! Please answer the following yes-or-no questions: 1) Is it necessary for Christians to do good works? Yes. 2) Is it a sin to be lazy and avoid good works? Yes. 3) Do good works save us? No. 4) Will being nice and doing good works get people into heaven? No. So, what saves us? The grace of Jesus. He saves us.
So far this year, we’ve had 11 testimonies of people who have been baptized or who have gone through Alpha or Faith Studies. The reason we have so many is because testimonies are real, they show how Jesus works, and no one can argue with them. This is why we ask that everyone who becomes Catholic or is confirmed as an adult to share their testimony. Simpson at first didn’t want to share his testimony because he wanted to keep a low profile, which is natural, but, when it comes to Jesus, it’s not good. Simpson then realized that it’s not about his comfort, but about helping at least one other person. St. Paul says, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Rom 10:13-14). This is the main action item of today’s homily: Joyfully speaking of what Jesus did in our lives. Keeping our story to ourselves can unintentionally hurt people.
Alpha starts on September 18, 2025 so please invite your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues and anyone who’s exploring faith. Please tell them that Alpha consists of free dinner, a 25-minute world-class video about faith, then a discussion, and there’s no pressure to come back, consequently there’s complete freedom.
To finish, we have the testimony of Kevin and Nettie Hills, who were received into the Church, and whose three children, Elliot, Alexi, and Ruth, were baptized on July 20….