Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
It has sometimes troubled me to hear that the gate that leads to eternal life is narrow and the way that leads to destruction is very broad. On the surface this is one of Jesus’ harsher sayings. It would not be the first thing that I would quote if I were presenting Jesus’ teachings to someone for the first time. Yet the scripture readings for today reveal a very positive message that can be uplifting for Christians today as we attempt to live a life of discipleship.
One theme of the scripture readings today is the richness of God’s gifts to us and the need for us to respond to these gifts through faith. In the first reading we see that the southern kingdom (Judah) is threatened of attack by the Assyrians. King Hezekiah prays to the Lord to ask for deliverance from the Assyrian army. The Lord agrees to help Judah, saying that he will save the city of Jerusalem for the sake of the faithful there and for the sake of King David.
In the gospel reading, Jesus admonishes his disciples to enter through the narrow gate that leads to eternal life. He also warns them of the broad road that leads to destruction. Jesus’ words suggest that the narrow way is difficult but the broad way is easy. He warns them that most people follow the broad way, but only few follow through the narrow way. This might seem to suggest that it is very difficult to follow the narrow way. Yet a little later on in the same gospel Jesus promises: “my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matthew 11: 30). I take great comfort from the latter passage, because it gives me hope that it is possible to do what Jesus says is necessary for eternal life. Jesus is saying that he is there to help his disciples to follow the correct path, even when it is difficult. We are not the primary source of our ability to walk according to the narrow path. Nor are we responsible for saving ourselves. Instead, our faith and the expression of it in our thoughts, words, and deeds is a result of God working in us and through us. What Jesus is calling us to do is to accept the gift of faith that Jesus gives us and which enables us to love and serve God and one another.
We have an opportunity today to follow Jesus’ command to enter by the narrow gate. Let us take this opportunity, and realize that in doing so we follow in the footsteps of Hezekiah, David, and the other faithful men and women who have gone before us in the faith.
- Joel shickle