Commentary on the Gospel of
The Gospel of today has three messages: profaning the holy, the Golden rule and the narrow gate. Profaning consists in the lack of receptivity of the Gospel message, and is not about the unworthiness of people. We must never stop sharing God’s word to the world, but it is useless to teach people who will not listen and distort the message. Golden rule is given to the disciples as their norm of behaviour. Jesus is positive and demanding. One may refrain from doing harm. It is more difficult to go forth and do good for others. The third message dwells on eternal life.
The gate that leads to it is narrow. The narrowness does not refer to the difficulty, but that there is only one way to live eternally with God and only a few choose this path. The road represented by two doors leads to different goals. A significance that is consistent with the reprimands of Jesus would be that the wide door is joined to the wide path which leads to perdition or damnation, that is to say, to walk on a wide road is something pleasant, and capable of handling a great many travellers, but the message of text is different. Matthew agrees with the Jewish conception of the “road”; on the trail of Dt 30:19 and Jer 21:8 there are two roads that are in counter position, that of death and that of life. To know how to choose among the many ways of life is decisive for entering into the kingdom of Heaven. Anyone who chooses the narrow road, that of life, should know that it is full of afflictions. Narrow paths, especially with a cart, are tricky and tough to travel. It is also less travelled. The evangelist is telling the readers that many may not choose this path, so don’t expect it to be a busy road. Gospel proposes a new way, a new path, and many of the people of that time didn’t not want to travel that path, so are many men and women of today. Authenticity of our Christian can throw a challenge to world of our times.
