Only last week we heard that beautiful 'Magnificat' of Mary. Like Jesus in his famous mission statement in the Nazareth Synagogue, she points to how the reign of God might seem very unusual in purely human terms: everything is turned on its head. While the gospel of Luke is generally seen as the gospel of compassion, today Jesus is uncompromising, as he urges to 'enter by the narrow gate'! He does not want his followers to take any easy option in their quest to spread the Word.

Our society has made a big thing about coming first—in sport, academics, the arts and politics. We can all probably remember the name of the first person who walked on the moon, but can you remember Harrison Schmitt, the twelfth and last to have that experience? We can remember those who win the Oscars, especially if they are a favourite actor, but do we know who was nominated with them, having to go home empty-handed? Success is a blessing and a gift, but it is not the be all and end all. In life we must learn from our failures and the mistakes that we make—they define us too.

They say that 'a week is long time in politics', but our recent experience at Westminster has shown that even Prime Ministers can be quickly removed from their top spot. While ambition is very important, the love of God is open to all, regardless of ability, wealth or social standing. Jesus makes it clear that our faith is not some sort of talent show, where we will be evicted by a popular vote. During this coming week, perhaps we can just accept people and situations as we find them. Of course, things could always be better, but we are called to live in the reality that we are presented with. Jesus is inviting us to live in real humility: some of us may have visited The Church of the Nativity. It is perhaps one of the most famous Church buildings in the world, and one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world today. To enter the cave where they tell you Jesus was born, you have to go through not just the main door but also through the 'Door of Humility'. This door was built by the Turks, and they deliberately built the door very low (it only goes up to about my chest). This was done to prevent locals from rushing in on their horses, as this low door forced them to dismount before entering. This may have been originally done unintentionally, but today it makes a great statement to all who enter - only the humble are allowed to enter—everyone who comes must bow to enter. The Lord invites us to share true humility—even if it means that we come second in the race of life

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

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