Rev. Tatiana Cantarella

Revelation 7:9-17, Deuteronomy 30:15-20, Matthew 7:13-14 and Luke 13:23-30

TWO WAYS, TWO GATES, TWO CROWDS, TWO CHOICES

Sometimes when we read the Bible we can hardly understand why a loving God says such harsh words. We do not like when someone presents us with a choice of "either-or." Jesus gives this warning and quite emphatically, and we do not like it. We prefer the words of Christ with which He comforts us, words about the strength that He gives us. And at such words as these, we prefer not to focus much attention because they sound as a threat to us. But they really are not a threat. There is a huge difference between a warning and a threat. As someone rightly said, "God never threatens anyone, and the devil never warns anyone." A warning may sound harsh but when God-given it is inspired by love and patience. He tells the Pharisees, "you hope to escape judgment?" "Think about where you're going and where this way will lead?" - He said. His words are not that of revenge, God is not revengeful. Be careful how you hear the Lord, especially when reading His rather strict statements. All the words of Christ must be seen in the light of His cross. It is His great love for us compels Him to warn us. God says, "the way of the wicked is hard", yes, it is hard because God has put obstacles in the way of wickedness, for the sake of his children so that they will not be easily caught in the nets of sin ... He would not make the path of lawlessness easier but He loves us so much that warns us over and over again about the dangers of it and warns us also that in fact we have a very limited choice.

Most people prefer to always have lots of options to choose from, or better yet, to be able to combine options, to have a bit of everything, so that they would not have to choose at all. And people often believe live can really be lived like that. But Jesus says that everyone will have to make choices, our whole life is made of crossroads. Every day we stand before a choice, which we cannot avoid. We always have to choose one or the other way, and because of that God always warns people about their inevitable choice. Shortly before the death of Moses, the Lord spoke through him to the people: "Behold, I have set before you life and death, good and evil ... therefore choose life, so that you and your family will live" (Deut. 30:15-19).

TWO WAYS

So Jesus sets people before a choice: "There are two ways," he says. One way is convenient and wide. It is capacious, and spread wide. There is enough room for different opinions and attempts to avoid moral standards. This is the path of tolerance and permissiveness. There are really no restrictions on it. Those who walk on it live by their own laws and inclinations. Vanity, hypocrisy, outward piety, ambition, carping is just some of the luggage of the travelers. Most people do not need to learn these, these are the essence of the sinful human nature, therefore going that way it is easy and doesn’t require much effort. Say and do what you please and what you think is right. Do not strain yourself, do not torture yourself with things that you consider difficult to do. Take it easy… Yet such a path does not lead to greatness. After all, greatness is always the result of effort and labor. When a member of British Parliament once gave a brilliant speech, his brother wondered why it was that only one of the brothers of all the family inherited such talents and the rest were left out, "but then he remembered that when they all played, he always worked." Even when a person does something seemingly easy, hard work stands behind that performance. Behind the mastery of an artist, a virtuoso playing the piano, or figure skating champion, is hidden the hard work and sweat. But all this has no place on the easy and wide way where only the things that do not require any effort from you are acceptable. But as someone rightly said: "We have always two choices, two paths that we can go on. One of them is easy. And this is its only advantage."

The second path is difficult and narrow. Its boundaries are clearly marked. Why is it narrow? Because God gave us His revelation and showed us that not all things are good for us. Going this way requires obedience to the Lord. Anyone who decides to go on it is ready to overcome difficulties and to fight temptation. The Word of God has set on this road a railing that is true and good, and a child of God holds on to the railing and not trying to get over it realizing that this will get him lost, make him fall and even die. God's people understand that the limitations set by God on the right path are put there by love and desire to warn us not to chase the things that most people choose. He reminds us that the long-lasting things are not done quickly and that a long way, hard way, eventually is the best way to go.

TWO GATES

"These two paths lead to two gates", the Scripture says. The gate where the easy way leads is "broad" and the baggage that people bring to it may enter into it without restriction. We are not required to leave anything behind, even our sins, out pride, our self-justification.

The narrow gates where the hard path is leading can even be unnoticed. And to enter into this gate we have to leave everything behind: our sin, selfishness, lust, and if required even our family and friends... For no one can follow Christ if not ready to reject even himself/herself. A narrow path leading to the narrow gate is the way of discipleship. Many people are convinced that simply believing that God exists is enough. Many people care only about how to receive salvation from the Lord. They want to have eternal life, realizing somewhere deep down, intuitively, that they need God. And they are searching. Jesus said that many are looking for the gates of life but not many people find them. Why not? Because people are looking for salvation, eternal life, but do not accept Jesus, are not ready to follow him faithfully, day after day, throughout their whole life.

Jesus came to earth to open the gates of the kingdom to the people and invites them to enter in. However, since the gate is not wide it requires a conscious, sincere desire to leave everything behind in order to enter in. You won’t get in if you're just happened to be walking by. During our last trip to the U.S., we were in southern California, which is very close to the Mexican border. So close that I could not resist and really wanted to go there and just walk around and see what it’s like. Leaving the car parked at the border, we went, guided by signs pointing to the border crossing for those on foot. It was simple, free, spacious walk. You come to a metal turntable, you pass through it and you're in Mexico. Nobody checks anything, neither the documents nor the contents of the bags; it’s an easy passage. Just great! Well, we walked out there in the nearest town of Tijuana for a couple of hours, had lunch and went home. Approaching the border we realized "oh oh” – from afar we could see a huge line of people, which was moving slowly, winding like a snake, and slowly seeping into a narrow gate. It took us only one minute to get into Mexico and we were able to bring in what we wanted with no problems. But to get into a country of "an American Dream" there was only one way and it was through that narrow gate, entering slowly and patiently with the inspection of what we were bringing in, and if we had all the appropriate documents.

With Jesus’ coming God gave to Israel and to all the nations another chance, the last chance. Jesus Christ is the only door, and the last Messenger. That is why the gate to life is narrow. Not all roads, as people like to say, lead to God. If one doesn’t accept Christ and won’t follow Him to the end, there will be no other chance. Jesus said, "I am the door, the one who enters through Me will be saved." People, on the one hand, choose to believe in Jesus while continuing to look for something else but do not find it. Others even come to find that gate, they see it but do not go through it; not many are able to enter. Why? Because they have a lot of baggage, which they are not ready to leave behind. They do not want to leave the old life behind, yet, at the same time they want to get a new life from God. They want to have both the blessings of a life with God and everything else that have always had in the world: they want to keep their habits, flaws, they want to keep the right to remain the way they are, what they have always been. But with all this baggage they cannot squeeze in through the gates of true life.

TWO CROWDS

This narrow path is unattractive to many, though it leads to life. And we see on these two paths are the two very different crowds. The wide path is filled with lively crowds from all segments of society. Many of them are happy and carefree, others are sullen but most of them do not even think about the end where their path is leading them. They do not think about death, they only think about what they want here and now.

On the narrow path walks a "happy company of travelers," it goes hand in hand, having turned their backs to sin, and with faces set to the heavenly city. They are singing the songs of hope, marching to the Promised Land. Their eyes are fixed on their goal. They are approaching the narrow gates, but they know they will enter because they have nothing to lose and they are ready to leave everything behind for the sake of eternal bliss in the presence of God. They are the ones about whom we read in the book of Revelation today. These are people from different tribes and languages, standing before the throne of the Lamb of God in white robes, and crying, "salvation belongs to our God." These are the ones who experienced sorrows and walked the narrow path and entered the narrow gate, they washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb and dwell with Him forever. Among them you won’t find those who simply wanted to see what will happen next, or those who thought that would be justified and get in just because they once set with Jesus at the same table, or attended His church, or prayed in His name. Such people can be compared with those who would not be standing with us in the queue to cross the border but would decide to watch what will happen to us before they join in, but then would end up before a closed door. It is not enough to hear what Jesus says, not enough to identify themselves with His Church, not enough to have prayed a sinner’s prayer some time in the past to enter into the kingdom. One should belong to this happy company, which left sin behind, and is moving confidently day by day towards the promised land, trusting in the Lord's promise that this is the only way to life, even if this company seems to be the minority.

TWO GOALS (TWO ENDS)

And these two roads lead to two different ends. Psalm 1 says that God watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish. The path that is wide and easy leads to destruction, not because God is so merciless that He is always waiting for an opportunity to destroy sinners. No, God is not willing that anyone should perish. But the way without Christ leads to death, leads to what we are accustomed to call "hell", i.e. a reality where all the good will be destroyed, where there is no love, no beauty, no truth, no joy, no peace, no hope - and that's final.

At the same time the narrow path, a hard path leads through a narrow gate to "eternal life", which begins already here and now because of peace we have with God but eventually will be established when we will dwell forever in God's presence.

Most of us have been in the church for a long time and probably think that we’ve heard all that before and know it all. We’ve found and accepted Christ long time ago. But I want to join the warning of Jesus today that complacency is dangerous. It is dangerous to think that if you once devoted your life to Jesus you came to the end of the road and now you can sit back and relax, as if the goal has already been achieved. Apostle Paul tells us, "in fear and trembling work out your own salvation," and Jesus says, "By your endurance you will gain your lives". This means that salvation becomes real in our lives only when we will follow the way that was opened and outlined for us by our Lord – the way that is narrow, the way where we refuse to live according to the demands of the world, refuse to be dependent from everyday concerns about food and clothing, refusing to be controlled by circumstances and habits of the world that knows no God.

There are only two ways - the hard one and easy one (nothing in between), there are only two gates – the wide and the narrow (no other), one belongs to one of the two crowds, and ends one’s journey either in death or in life (no other alternative exists). Such words are extremely unpopular nowadays. People want to live without having to give themselves completely to anything. But such a life leads to destruction. The narrow path is difficult but to walk on it is more than possible. Jesus said, "Come unto me ... and I will give you rest. I will put in you the true ideal and I'll give you the strength needed to achieve it." Without Christ, there is a huge gap between the ideal and its achievement; and this gap cannot be overcome. The only way to cross it is to enter into communion with Christ and remain in Him. And He promises to be with us forever. This means that in the midst of the crowd walking the narrow way Christ is walking also supporting each one who stumbles and inspiring each one who is tempted to give up and go down the wide path. And it is as we walk this path He saves us from death but not only that. He also changes our whole life. 

Which way, through which gate, with which crowd and to what end will you decide to go?