For instance, there is the story of an adult daughter who was helping her mother make a traditional dish as part of their cultural celebration. It was a long and tedious job. The dish being made had to be done in a very specific way and if it wasn’t, then it couldn’t be used. Many times, steps had to be repeated or the project had to be started over, until finally, in exasperated frustration the daughter questioned her mother as to why they were doing this, because when everything was said and done, the completed recipe didn’t even taste good. In surprise, her mother responded, it isn’t supposed to taste good, it’s supposed to be hard to make. In other words, the value of the task wasn’t found in the end product, it was found in the process of sacrifice.

Similarly, the narrow gate in the gospel for today isn’t supposed to be difficult, it’s supposed to help us to stay focused on our faith and to grow in our holiness, because, left to our own devices, out of laziness, we will create God in our own image rather than strive to follow the will of God and recognize that we are created in God’s own image.

To illustrate the point, Jesus offers us a story of the Master who has locked the door while those who are outside are pleading to be let in. Those on the outside feel that since they have eaten and drunk with the Master of the house and that they recognize him from a distance, that they will be admitted, despite the fact that it is too late. In spite of their pleading, the Master casts them away into the darkness where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Because of their casual relationship with the Master, he tells them that he does not know them and casts them into a place of pain, suffering and punishment.

It isn’t too difficult to see that Jesus is creating an analogy in His parable where the doors that have been locked are the doors to the kingdom of heaven, and those people pleading to get in are those who have neglected their spiritual lives on earth and their relationship with God, through a lack of spiritual discipline. The point of all of this though is to show that any relationship that is worth having is worth the work, because from our perspective and in reference to the kingdom of heaven, we have everything to gain by prayerfully building our relationship with God and everything to lose, if we choose to not pursue the narrow gate.

In spiritual discipline, the narrow gate is found through prayer, through a life of holiness, through knowledge of the word of God and in the sacraments of the Church, as they keep us focused on the love of God. Deviation from the narrow gate is found in following our own path apart from the will of God, presuming that God will be okay with what we are doing. If heaven is the reward for a holy life well lived, then living a life apart from the will of God and then expecting to be rewarded with heaven is kind of like expecting to be paid for a job we have never been to or ever worked at.

Once the gate of heaven has been closed through our actions, misdeeds or our indifference, then there is no turning back. It’s not so much a matter of changing the mind of God once this happens, as God is simply going along with the choices we have made and is responding to our decisions.

The narrow gate isn’t meant to be difficult, it is meant to keep us on the right path to holiness so that through spiritual discipline we will know the will of God and build a relationship with God that makes us familiar with Him and joyfully focused on avoiding sin.

Everyone is different and unique, an irreplaceable person created in the image and likeness of God, and as such we all have our own individual paths to holiness and to God. As we live our Christian lives though, we need to realize, that is not enough to have a casual relationship with God making up our own rules as we go along, as God is passionate about a relationship with us and demands we pay attention to the narrow gate leading to the Kingdom of Heaven as there is no alternate route. This is offered to us, so that we will not stand outside and knock, pleading to be let in. Rather, we need to travel the path of holiness through spiritual discipline, to find the narrow gate standing open and waiting for us, welcoming all who have come to know God and loving His ways.