13. Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is
the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be
which go in by it. The narrow gate means both trials that are voluntarily
undertaken, such as fasting and the like, and trials that are involuntarily
experienced, such as imprisonment and persecution. Just as a man who is fat, or
who is carrying a great load, cannot go in through a narrow gate, neither can a
gourmandize or a rich man. These go in through the wide gate. To show that
narrowness is temporary and that width is likewise transitory, He calls them a
"gate" and a "way." For the gate is hardship, and he who
undergoes hardship passes through his hardship as quickly as he would pass
through a gate. And the pleasure of the gourmandizer's feast are as transitory
as any moment in a journey along a road. Since both are temporary, we ought to
choose the better of the two.
14. How narrow is the gate and how hard the way
which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it! The word
"how" expresses the Lord's wonderment, as if He were saying,
"Alas, how narrow it is!" But how is it that the Lord says on another
occasion, "My yoke is light"? It is light when compared to the burden
of passions.
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