Jesus ~ The Narrow Gate!!

One can often sense that the season of fall is subtly seeping into the cracks and crevices of the complexion of late summer. At night the crickets are creating a cacophony of chirping while accompanied by the light from the full moon. During the day, one can notice the bright red color of the smooth Sumac near the road sides, and garden shops are displaying dried flower arrangements alongside an assortment of chrysanthemum plants.  

However, another clue that there is a shift in the season here in the northern hemisphere is that on my travels to work, I pass a plethora of yard signs.  No, they do not exhibit campaign slogans for political candidates. These are signs notifying passers-by that a de-cluttering has occurred. The signs read: Garage $ale, Rummage $ale, or Yard $ale.  Do not take these signs literally – the garages and yards of these residences are not for sale. What has happened is that within these domestic confines, there has been a “shift” and a cleaning up and out of the attics, closets, basements, storage spaces, and the garages has occurred. Sort of a household “intervention”!

This de-cluttering happens for all sorts of reasons:
• There is no longer a need for certain items
• A move to another house, apartment, or condo
• A desire to down-size
• Individuals have died; or individuals have grown up and moved out of the house, or there has been a change in a relationship
•  A  Sale like this is a quick way to obtain some extra cash to buy school supplies for the kiddies
• Or a desire to change the theme, color, or environment of certain rooms and everything has to go!

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about entering the narrow gate. Some of his followers think they are BFF’s. However, just eating, drinking, and walking with Jesus is not enough to pass through the narrow gate. Discipleship calls for a “de-cluttering” of certain pious practices, attitudes, and behaviors that may keep one spiritually proud and thinking you are “first” in line when Jesus says – get thee to the end of the line! Yikes!! 

When I think of a “narrow gate,” I often think of those turnstiles that one can encounter at museums, stadiums, sub-way stations, cafeterias, amusement parks, or certain lobbies. This type of “gate” allows for one person to pass at a time with a trusty coin, token, ticket, or pass in hand for entrance. One cannot approach these “narrow gates” with a lot of items in hand, or on your back, or even with a U-haul, so as to pass through with as little hassle as possible. One only passes through with ease when there is nothing encumbering one’s movement.  

So, too, Jesus states: “Put your mind on your life with God. The way to life – to God! – is vigorous and requires your total attention.”  That is, attention on God and not on power, prestige, or possessions. I would think that hearing Jesus speak of the narrow gate calls for us all to assess the clutter within ourselves and that we consider the practice to “strive” to live more simply – by being unencumbered by desires and regrets, by jealousy and grudges, comparisons and the need of validation from others. This invitation from Jesus calls us to deliberately, consciously, and creatively choose to live simply and not to bother about striving to be first in line.

Therefore, simply letting go, letting come, and letting be. Then we will begin to choose to live more simply—“we simply are who we simply are. . . the simplicity that enables us to hold lightly the things of this world, and to take ourselves lightly as well, is the fruit of having discovered and surrendered to the Essence of us. . . If, as we seek God, we grow in wisdom, we learn that the clutter of things can distract us from the awareness of God’s indwelling, that true simplicity is more about being detached that it is about being without possessions, and that self-acceptance is key to overcoming the preoccupation that blinds us to the simple truth that we share a common Essence with all creation.” (The God Instinct by Tom Stella)

A prayer of “de-cluttering” by John of the Cross - He must have had a Heart $ale and performed a major clearing with profound grace!  

Prayer of Detachment

Deliver me, O Jesus 
from the desire of being loved, from the desire of being extolled, from the desire of being praised, from the desire of being preferred, from the desire of being consulted, from the desire of being approved, from the desire of being popular.

Deliver me, O Jesus
from the fear of being humiliated, from the fear of being despised, from the fear of suffering rebukes, from the fear of being forgotten, from the fear of being wronged, from the fear of being ridiculed, from the fear that others may be loved more than I.

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire
that others may be esteemed more than I, that in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, that others may be chosen and I set aside, that others may be praised and I unnoticed, that others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should. (- John of the cross (1542-1591)

John, move to the front of the line!!!