Simplicity as the Narrow Gate

Today's Readings: AM Psalm 101, 109:1-4(5-19)20-30; PM Psalm 119:121-144; 2 Kings 18:9-25; 1 Cor. 8:1-13; Matt. 7:13-21

As you read this email, a group of pilgrims from Saint Stephen’s will be having their farewell dinner in Santiago and beginning a 4,000-mile journey back home. Walking the Camino de Santiago again has been an extraordinary gift for me, and honestly, it has been such a beautiful reminder of the simplicity of life. We have walked, shared, laughed, broken bread, made friends, and even played a few rounds of Mahjongg. That is not a typo.

One of the metaphors of the Camino is the simplicity of helping each other along the way. On one wooded path, a man stood playing a simple percussion instrument, much like steel drums, offering joy to all who passed by. One of our pilgrims asked if she could try, and soon Jennye was playing the mallets, filling the forest with unexpected music, delighting everyone around. That’s the way of the Camino: someone offers what they have, another joins in, and joy is multiplied. We carried one another’s packs, shared blister pads, offered encouragement on steep climbs, and reminded each other to slow down and notice the beauty around us. The Camino is not about getting ahead; it is about walking together.

Jesus once told his disciples, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). We often assume the “narrow gate” means the harder path, the more complicated way. But maybe it is also the obvious one—the way of simplicity, of caring for each other, of sharing what we have, of helping one another along the road. We have made life too complicated. Jesus points us back to what matters most: not what we build up, but how we love and support each other on the journey.

Maybe its narrow because it is so easy to not trust each other, to make enemies out of our friends and out of our strangers, or to believe that there is not enough, that we must hoard all that we can. Maybe that is why things have gotten so out of control in our daily lives.

The Camino is a profound reminder of this truth. Day after day, you carry only what you need. You rely on the kindness of strangers, and you learn that joy comes not from possessions or accomplishments, but from the gift of walking with others. And perhaps that is the invitation for all of us—to live our daily lives as if we are on the Camino, trusting that with God’s help, and each other’s, that this journey of life and faith is something we do with our human family, a profoundly sacred journey. 

John+

Question for Self-Reflection: What burdens or complications in your daily life might you lay down so that you can walk more simply, trusting God and others along the way?