Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."

- Matthew 7:13-21

Over the course of the readings of the past two weeks, we have been reading Jesus' Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. We began with The Beatitudes, in which Jesus taught the blessings of the life of discipleship. Next He taught the value of such lives, in You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world. Then He began to teach about the Law, saying "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." He then expanded His teaching on several statutes in Mosaic Law; the first against murder: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder;'" then, against adultery: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery;'" and finally regulating vengeance: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'" His expansion includes the inner life of the heart, not merely outward acts. Next He began to discuss spiritual practice (in almsgiving, prayer and fasting) - forbidding hypocrisy and again emphasizing the inner life, in "Do not be like the hypocrites." During the discussion of prayer, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, teaching Our Father in heaven. He then taught that we cannot serve both God and mammon, that we need to make a clear choice in No man can serve two masters. Then He began to teach about how we look at life and what we value. Over-worry and anxiety over the material things we need in life are not for the life of discipleship. He said to observe the birds, and the wild lilies -- none of these work to sow, harvest and store, or spin, endlessly worrying about the future, yet they are cared for by the Father. The Father knows what we have need of, we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." He said, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." In yesterday's reading, finally, Jesus taught about the life of discipleship and its righteousness, especially in congregation. He taught us not to judge or condemn, and repeated His teachings on reciprocity: "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." He once again repeated His warnings against hypocrisy in this context. We are to be aware of who we are, our own flaws and faults, before we can helpfully correct anyone else. "First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." He then warned against giving pearls to swine, or giving what is holy to dogs: we are not to seek to create discipleship in those who do not value it, cannot appreciate it, may in fact despise it. And all things are open to those who do want these pearls, disciples in sincerity and faith who are always to be asking, seeking, and knocking: "for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Summing up the Law and Prophets, He taught once again the reciprocal principle, active in our lives as disciples: "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

"Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." My study bible points out that this description of two ways is widespread both in Judaism and early Christian writings. It adds, "Because we wrestle against human sins and weaknesses, as well as the spiritual forces of evil, entering the Kingdom involves difficult labor and struggle." I believe also that this description of discipleship is a precise warning about developing "the ideas of man" in substitution for the teachings of God. It also speaks deeply about our personal relationship to God. It is there that we find righteousness with one another. We may have all kinds of good ideas that seem very positive in our own sight, but humility asks that we defer to that which will lead us on this path and through the gate, step by step, and through confrontation with our own weaknesses and struggles -- things that human nature seems generally to prefer to avoid! (I speak, of course, from my own personal experience in this!)

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. " What is a false prophet, or a wolf in sheep's clothing? If we think about it, it's someone who professes discipleship but who yet fails to try to do as Jesus teaches. A false prophet or wolf in sheep's clothing is first of all a hypocrite: acting one way and inwardly another. It is someone who fails to find discipleship in the inner life -- a practice which sums up the whole of the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus' emphasis on our inner state of being and relationship to God and neighbor. This is especially a warning about leadership: humility is an exceptionally important quality in a leader, otherwise he may actually be seeking to prey on the flock, after some ambitious prize of his or her own. A ravenous wolf is predatory, seeking his own gain, rather than a good shepherd who helpfully guides the flock. Without facing our own weaknesses in humility before God, the power of leadership easily corrupts. He teaches us all that by their fruits we shall know them. And there is a kind of assurance here: "Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit." My study bible points out that Jesus does not say here that people cannot change: we infer that it is possible for those living corrupt lives to change, and also those good disciples to fall away. Again, it is a prescription for awareness, especially of the true state of the heart, a right-relatedness to God and neighbor.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Again, this is a supreme teaching against hypocrisy, one that resounds over and over again in Jesus' Sermon. And He has explained to us the reasons that His disciples must emphasize the inner life, and not merely outward acts: "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." This is a warning to all who would be His disciples, and especially leaders among them. We are to seek first the will of "My Father in heaven." It is about attitude, the way we face life and our own decisions about what we do with our lives. In this we will have the attitude of discipleship.

Let us think about good sheep and good shepherds. In the tradition of the Church, we are also called the "rational sheep." But discipleship involves humility, seeing first the kingdom of heaven. We don't know everything, and we need good teaching, leadership, and relatedness to our Father in heaven in order to find the Way. This, to me, is the whole point of a Christian life -- that we first of all accept that we are not born knowing everything, we need help along the way, and that Our Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit give us as gifts the tools, discipleship and love needed to nurture and grow who we are in God's image. Good leadership, therefore, must also have this same attitude about their own spiritual lives; they are also disciples. We are all in this together. Jesus' teachings against hypocrisy are constant reminders of the need for self-awareness; we have to remove the plank in our own eye before we can help anyone else with the speck that is in theirs. If we take His teachings seriously, we come to a conclusion about what it means to be a rational sheep: we are to be aware of ourselves and our inner lives, but also our leadership and the fruits that may be produced. What He gives us then, is His Way, through the narrow gate, and through the struggles worthy of this pearl of great price. Discipleship makes us grow, gives us our awareness, asks of us to grow in the good, steadfast love of God, for His love endures forever. Discipleship takes in the whole of us, all our hearts and minds, and makes of us those capable of discernment and choice, awareness and responsibility. It is truly the gift of life, and life in abundance.