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| “Narrow and Wide Gates” by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695 |
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah
with this message:
“Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over
to the king of Assyria.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all other countries: they doomed them!
Will you, then, be saved?’”
Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;
then he went up to the temple of the LORD,
and spreading it out before him,
he prayed in the LORD’s presence:
“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim!
You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth.
Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen!
Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!
Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire;
they destroyed them because they were not gods,
but the work of human hands, wood and stone.
Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God.”
Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:
I have listened!
This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him:
“‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn,
the virgin daughter Zion!
Behind you she wags her head,
daughter Jerusalem.
“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant,
and from Mount Zion, survivors.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’
“Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it,
nor come before it with a shield,
nor cast up siege-works against it.
He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the LORD.
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.’”
That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp,
and went back home to Nineveh.
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Commentary on 2 Kgs 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
Following the annals of the kings of Israel, we come to King Hezekiah’s reign. Earlier in the account of his reign (715-687 BC), he implemented great reforms (see 2 Chronicles 29-31), throwing out many pagan influences which gained popularity during the reign of his predecessor, King Ahaz (735-715). The spiritual strength gained from the return to faith allowed Hezekiah to turn to the Lord for aid in facing the vastly superior Assyrians, who held sway over the entire region. This was accomplished with God’s aid, striking down a large number of the Assyrian army by what appears to be a plague.
Reference to the thwarting of the invasion by Sennacherib is dated to 701 BC. While the Assyrians did lay siege to Jerusalem, they did not capture it. This debacle led to the assassination of Sennacherib by one of his sons.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11
R. (9d) God upholds his city for ever.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
O God, we ponder your mercy
within your temple.
As your name, O God, so also your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Of justice your right hand is full.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11
Psalm 48 is a song of praise to God, exhorting the community to praise the Lord for his gift of salvation. The psalm sings of the glory of the Heavenly Kingdom, the New Jerusalem, and the Lord’s mercy and justice.
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Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
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Commentary on Mt 7:6, 12-14
This selection contains three popular sayings of the Lord, contained within the body of the Sermon on the Mount. The “pearls before swine” saying has been somewhat problematic for scholars. It probably refers to proclaiming the Gospel to those who reject it most strenuously, the scribes and Pharisees. This is followed by a shortened passage expounding the “Golden Rule.” The passage concludes with the analogy of the “narrow gate.” The foundation for this saying is found in Deuteronomy 30:15-20. After the Jews' long sojourn in the desert and having the law imparted to them, Moses sums up the function of God’s law, saying, “See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil.” Jesus draws a similar comparison. The narrow gate refers here to following the precepts of the Lord, and keeping the discipline of the faith. These precepts form a boundary for actions: “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.”
CCC: Mt 7:12-13 2821; Mt 7:12 1789, 1970; Mt 7:13-14 1036, 1970, 2609; Mt 7:13 1696
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Reflection:
Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
“How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.” Whenever this passage is proclaimed we think of road construction at rush hour. In most major cities it seems that those in authority pick the most heavily traveled stretches of highway to repair just as traffic is at its heaviest. This always causes huge backups and tempers flare.
When people rush to get to the same destination there are always those who think there might be an easier way, a quicker way, one not requiring the patience needed to follow the constricted route. These individuals violate laws and place themselves (and others) in danger, because of their failure to follow the laws.
The same thing is true of our journey toward the Heavenly Kingdom. The path is constricted by the commandments set down for us to follow. Those who find them too difficult, just as those confronted with a traffic backup, will try to find an easier way, a more comfortable route. Those who choose this path are the ones Jesus laments in the passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel.
There was an article recently published by an apologist that addressed this very point. When confronted by a young man who was a professed atheist, he began to explore the reasons this once-Catholic individual had turned so adamantly away from the Church. After hearing the young man go through all of the usual popular objections about the failings of the Church and the people of faith, the apologist asked just one question: “You’re sleeping with your girlfriend aren’t you?”
So often those we meet who reject the narrow path do not reject it because they do not believe it is the right path, but rather because it is either too difficult, or not as much “fun” as the alternative. The person who fails at some endeavor in life does not embrace that failure because it is the right thing to do, but rather because succeeding generally requires more work, discipline, and effort.
For those who struggle along the narrow way, we pray that they continue to have the strength to persevere, ignoring the short-term struggle and seeing the eternal benefit. We pray also for those who have found the narrow way too difficult, and have turned back. We pray and encourage them that they might know that it is never too late to make the attempt once more. For all of us, we pray that, in spite of the times we fail, falling off that narrow way, that we have the strength of faith to dust ourselves off and climb back on. Life is worth the effort.
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] The picture used is “Narrow and Wide Gates” by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695.
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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