“And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14)
The Gospel from the Scripture readings at today's Mass is a continuation of Jesus' great Sermon on the Mount. Today, in Matthew 7, we read: “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.”
“And those who find it are few.” Why? Why so few? Most of us are looking for a path. Many of us are looking for a way to live our life. We want answers to our questions; we want a list of things to do so that we can do well. However, Jesus doesn't offer us a way, for He is the Way.
In Deus Caritas Est, no. 1, Pope Benedict XVI writes: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” Being Christian is about Christ, it's about Jesus. Being a disciple is less about a checklist for living and more about a person we're living with. Being Christian is a about a person and His name is Jesus Christ.
It's easier for us to follow a “way” or a “check list.” There, we're still in control. There, we're really don't have to surrender fully. Most of us want to be disciples on our terms. Few people desire the person of Jesus Christ as revealed by Gospel. Why? People force you to change your life. People force you to be known. People force you to know them. Thus, when Jesus says “those who find it are few” He's highlighting the fact that few us want the person more than we want to control our own discipleship.
How are you doing with the person? How's your relationship with Christ? Do you spend more time on trying to get it right or with the person of Christ? Does the person of Christ have access to all areas of your life? What is the person of Christ asking of you today ... right now?
© Fr. Mark Toups, 2013
Today @ IPF:
The 169 seminarians in the Seminarians Summer Program are in class in the morning and pastoral ministry in the afternoon. In their morning class, “Celibacy and Sexuality,” the men will learn more about the stages involved in grieving, with a particular emphasis in the area of celibacy. In addition, they will recognize grief as an ordinary part of life. In the afternoon the seminarians visit one of over 50 sites within the Archdiocese of Omaha for three hours of pastoral ministry.
In addition, today 22 priests and seminarians arrive on campus for orientation preparing them for the start of the 30-day retreat.
Today's Quote from Pope Benedict XVI:
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”
― Deus Caritas Est, no. 1
