Tuesday – 12th Week in OrdinaryTime   

Gospel – Matthew 7:6, 12-14

It Ain’t Easy Being…….Christian

Door of Humility, Bethlehem

 I consider myself a half-way decent handyman, not great but I manage.  I try to get things done, get things fixed.  And during our Covid year when the entire world hunkered down at home, I certainly had time to really tackle my honey-do list.  But on occasion, I tried to cut corners, to do a quick patch job, and then I paid for it farther down the line.  I slap some paint on a window sill but neglect to scrape and prime the area first.  And then months later, that same window sill needs painting again after my quick job flakes away.

We all wish life was easy, manageable, predictable, but that just isn’t the case.  Life is hard; living is hard.  And any attempt to rush through it ends up eventually slapping us in the face. Snap out of it!  This is what Jesus addresses in today’s Gospel.  We all have one task – to be Christian, to treat others the way we want to be treated.  But too often we rush to complete the task.  Too often, we think we have better things to do.  Too often we choose to take the wide gate.

Take a good look at today’s photo.  This is the entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.  Do you see the entrance?  It’s that little dark square roughly in the center of the picture.  That doorway/entrance is only 4 feet high and 2 feet wide.  The only way to enter the Church is to bow, to crouch down.  That’s why it’s called the Door of Humility.  If you really want to enter, you have to make an effort. 

Jesus tells us we have a choice – the easy way or the hard way, the wide gate or the narrow one.  We all wish life was easy; we all hope for an uncomplicated life. But, as they say, the only reward in taking the easy way is that it’s easy.  Jesus reminds us today that being Christian, living a life of love and service to others, is not easy.  But the reward is eternal life.

Word to the wise – no matter how big or how small that honey-do list is, it will never get finished.  So be patient, be calm, trust the process and trust the Lord!

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