Word to the Wise
Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - Tuesday in the 12th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Kgs 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36 and Matt 7:6, 12-14]Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.
The Sermon on the Mount is drawing close to the end with final warnings to the disciples. Earlier in today's passage, Jesus balances the teaching about being judgmental with an admonition to show caution and discretion in sharing what is sacred to the community with those who do not understand and may well show disrespect. In general, the "Golden Rule" (as we call it) is a safe one to follow. It is a summary of all the Mosaic Law. [As children, we were given a ruler at the beginning of the school year with the "Golden Rule" printed on it!] Treating non-believers with respect is the best way to ensure respect for what is important to the community.
The Sermon notes that not everyone is going to choose "the way." The early community addressed by Matthew was composed in large part of Jews who had accepted Jesus as the Messiah. They would know the fundamental demands of the Old Testament. The ethical and religious demands of Jesus' teaching would seem too hard to many outside the community. Indeed, in our own time, the moral demands of Christianity seem too harsh to many. The Sermon on the Mount has to be read in its entirety, and not in a selective way. Many will read the "beatitudes" and the "Lord's Prayer" and skip the rest! Jesus' admonition about the narrow gate tells us that we do have a choice and each option has its consequences! A reading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP or C. S. Lewis' MERE CHRISTIANITY can give us a modern and demanding assistance! AMEN