Commentary on the Gospel of
The Narrow Gate
Jesus’ sermon on the mount is coming towards its conclusion with a set of cautions. Matthew consistently highlighted Jesus’ focus on the dignity of every person – both men and women, Pharisees as well as tax collectors, the healthy as well as the lepers, the blind, the lame. All lives matter – because life comes from God. Each of us is created by God in His image and likeness, and therefore, we believe that all human life is sacred and holy. Each person is thus a reflection of the Divine.
It is easy to see how Jesus moves from the simple instruction regarding holiness, to give us the well-known ‘golden rule’: “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.” If we believe each human person is holy, each person deserves our respect and acknowledgement of their dignity.
Society is currently falling short in many ways with regard to treating every individual with dignity and respect from conception to death. Regrettably, the culture of "throwing what is holy to swine" is on the rise. Abortion claims the lives of millions of unborn children annually. Wars and violence result in the loss of too many lives.
Today, there is an abundance of "entertainment" options, including drug and alcohol abuse and various addictions, all of which diminish the dignity of the human person - and we recklessly cast what is sacred to the swine.
The dignity and sanctity of the human person is rooted in the Creator. He invites us today to
“Enter through the narrow gate.” And that gate is Jesus himself, for he has told us: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
