Reading
Matthew 7:6.12-14
12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Comment
Pigs and dogs are considered unclean animals by Jews. The principle that holy things should not be given to dogs (v. 6) is the reason why Jesus does not perform miracles for those who do not believe (Mt 13:58). This does not contradict love for enemies and prayer for persecutors (Mt 5:44). Holy things and pearls represent the principle of brotherly correction after the disciple has removed "the beam" from his own eye. We must not refrain from preaching the gospel even to the wicked and profane men, as Jesus' preaching to tax collectors and sinners attests, but in the face of a hardened heart, the disciple is urged to shake the dust off his feet and turn elsewhere (Mt 10:14).
"'Do to others what you would have them do to you'" (v. 12) is the "Golden Rule", present before Christ in rabbinic texts, as well as in Hindu and Buddhist sacred texts. Often in these sources, it is present in its negative form "Do not do to others what you would not do to yourself". Privileging the positive form, Jesus emphasizes that this commandment represents a summary and the essence of the ethical principles contained in the Mosaic Law and in the prophetic scripts.
The metaphor of the "two ways" - one leading to life, the other to death - also recurs in pagan philosophy and mythology (eg. Hercules at the crossroads) and in the Old Testament (cf. Ps 1; Dt 30 15). In this context, it assumes an eschatological orientation. The narrow door and the narrow way are difficult to cross because they represent participation in the death and resurrection of Christ.
We can all enter life, but it is a demanding path, which requires commitment, self-denial, renouncing one's selfishness, and the decentralization necessary to take the perspective of the other from oneself.
Prayer
Guide us, o Lord, on the path of life and make us faithful witnesses of your Word, through regeneration in your death and resurrection. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
