In his study on Jesus, subtitled uncovering the life, teachings and relevance of a religious revolutionary, Marcus J. Borg distinguishes between what he calls the ‘broad way’ and the ‘narrow way’ of following Jesus. The ‘broad way’ is the way of the world; the ‘narrow way’ is Jesus' way, which is much more demanding. It is the way of the cross: ‘Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’ We are called to participate in the task of building up God’s kingdom here on earth. Brittle, frail and imperfect we may be; but God wants us to be the agents of change for this world.
It might be argued that Jesus sets the bar so high for us that it serves as a discouragement rather than an incentive to do better. We sometimes find the disciples themselves reflecting this viewpoint after Jesus’ teaching. See Luke 18:26-7, after Jesus’ teaching on wealth: ‘And they that heard it said, Then who can be saved? Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’ Jesus knows our nature, that if we can we seek to find ways of eluding the severest of tests and challenges. He knows that we will seek to ‘cop out’. That’s why he sets the bar so high. But on the other hand, there’s no discouragement. ‘What is impossible with men is possible with God.’ We have God to help us on our journey. We ourselves may be broken and unable to achieve perfection. But with God’s help we can do much better. And we have Jesus’ promise as the reward for the endeavour: ‘those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’
St Guthlac's Church blog. Welcome to your community church in South Knighton
