Oak Chapel United Methodist Church

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We don't like to hear Jesus say it's a rough road that leads to heaven and a narrow gate to enter by (and only a few make it). Seems unnecessarily harsh, judgmental, exclusive, maybe even elitist. Why can't everybody get there? This is a democracy! We have our rights! Let's look at the words. They come from the Sermon on the Mount. "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and many take it."    

Life is a Journey and we are Always on the Way -

The first thing to notice is that Jesus portrays the life of faith as a road we travel -- a difficult journey, a tough trip, a pilgrimage. In this picture, we do not easily or instantly qualify for God's kingdom -- not by baptism, nor by some dramatic experience of conversion, nor even by genuine repentance, although these are important milestones along the road for most of us. We are on our way. The early Christians, in fact, were called "children of The Way," (Via) suggesting not that they had arrived anywhere, but that they were en route. And it is not an easy road to travel.  

No Shortcuts to Salvation -

You remember, some years ago, the man who seemed to have won the Boston marathon. Only he won it by such a great margin, that the officials became suspicions. Come to find out, he had left the route of the race after a mile or two, literally disappeared underground, and had ridden the Boston subway system to a spot near the finish line. Then he reemerged and "won" the race. The officials were not amused. What Jesus is saying, in his "hard road and narrow gate" speech, is that the Christian life is a long and difficult race (a marathon, if you will), and we should not scheme (like that man in Boston) for an easier way. Listen to Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Jesus' words: "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be
practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life -- to God -- is vigorous and requires total attention."

I was home "under the weather" two days this week, and was appalled to discover (again) what a wasteland daytime television is. Especially the commercials. The advertisers seem to know what kind of people sit around all day watching TV. It's all about shortcuts. Ways to accomplish your dream and get what you want without having to do the necessary hard work. For example, you can pay
off all your bills simply by borrowing 125% of the equity in your home! Or, "if you've been injured" (and who hasn't?), you can get rich simply by calling the right law firm. You can learn computers in one hour -- send for the magic disk. You can become a diesel mechanic in three short weeks! You can learn to read in a flash. You can play a piano without lessons. Short cuts! Who believes this stuff? What kind of monsters make a living playing on the credulity of stupid and desperate people? My brother likes to remind me, from time to time, that he, too, is "ordained." He sent away twenty dollars a few years back, and got a certificate that says so. Short cuts! They tempt us and lead us astray. That's why Jesus warns us about the hard road and the narrow gate. Stay on track. Keep the faith. Don't be misled into thinking there's an easier way.  

Study the Bible Seriously-

That's the secret of the success of Disciple Bible Study, isn't it? Instead of pretending that a person can get to know the Bible by sending in a box top, without serious effort, someone had the courage (about ten years ago) to say, "No!" If we're serious about the scriptures, we must study them deeply, thoughtfully and over a period of time. And we must make commitments to such study, not half-hearted and feckless, but sincere. There is no shortcut. And hundreds of thousands have accepted the challenge. I'm convinced that Disciple Bible Study is, and will continue to be, an important piece of God's renewal of the United Methodist Church. It succeeds not by telling people how easy it is to understand God's word, but how difficult!    

Getting Called is Just the Start -

One of the sayings of Jesus that was apparently very popular in the early Christian church (Matthew especially likes it.) is this one, "Many are called but few are chosen." The germ of this idea appears in several forms in the New Testament. In the parable of the sower, for example, the seed of God's word falls on different kinds of ground, and almost all of it starts to grow. But not much survives. Many are called (Many hear God's word and are intrigued by it.), but few are chosen. (Few take it seriously and grow up in it and produce hundredfold blessings.) The rich young ruler, and that poor chap who just wanted just go and bury his father, are also examples of persons who felt called, in some way, but were not chosen for the full blessings of discipleship. Surely there had to be many early Christians who signed up, and dropped out when the going got rough. They got up on that road and started to walk, but when they saw
how rough it was and how narrow the gate at the end, they looked for shortcuts or gave up altogether. "for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. (But) the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Struggle Unceasingly for God's Great Cause I have just finished Jeff Shaara's book on the second half of the Civil War, called "The Last Full Measure." (His father, Michael Shaara, wrote, "Killer Angels", the best book ever on the battle of Gettysburg.) Like so many Civil War buffs before me, I can't take my eyes off that bedraggled Confederate army. Overwhelmed in the Wilderness, beaten at potsylvania, besieged at Petersburg, now drawn out of their trenches, the last avenue of escape cut off at Five Forks, they find themselves at a tiny crossroads called Appomatix Courthouse -- surrounded, starving, beaten. They emerge from the woods and march down the road as proudly as they can, on that fine April day in 1865, the few thousand of them that were left -- most just boys, all barefoot, uniforms tattered and in shreds, skin and bones beneath." Joshua Chamberlain, a great Union hero himself, from Maine, is selected by Grant to receive the sword of surrender. As the southerners stack their rifles and remove the cartridge boxes from their belts, Chamberlain gives the order for the Union Army to salute. And they do. And it was then that there occured was what Bruce Catton called a "Stillness at Appomatix."

Why do I respect these rebels so? Why did their enemies salute them? I don't sympathize with their cause. My own family, from Ohio and Pennsylvania, fought for the north. I respect them, I suppose, because, in the worst circumstances imaginable, they lived for and fought for (and many died for) what they thought was right. They did give the last full measure -- even those who survived. They chose a hard road and a narrow gate and stayed with it to the end.  

Jesus Merits Your Complete Dedication-

We have an even more heroic tale to tell in the stories of the early martyrs, our brothers and sisters in Christ, who took the cup and ate the bread as we do. Don't think Matthew wasn't thinking of the martyrs, when he reminded his readers what Jesus had said about rough roads and narrow gates. In the year 64 AD (right about when Matthew was writing, in fact), the mad emperor, Nero, was lighting the city of Rome by burning Christians on crosses soaked in tar. Both Peter and Paul, we believe, were killed at this time -- Peter insisting (if the church's memory is correct) that he be crucified upside down, so his head would not be in the same place as his Master's.

When the road got hard and the gate narrowed (in the tiny world of early Christianity), and men were separated from boys, and those who were just along for the ride dropped out, a few stuck with it to the end. And suffered, in unimaginable ways, and often died. They took Jesus, himself, as their example. We all have to die, but some die more gloriously than others. We all have to live, but some live wondrous lives while others merely exist, like vegetables. Why not decide to be among the few, instead of among the many. There is a great reward at the end of that hard road and through that narrow gate.