The Narrow Gate

You may be surprised to know that the Bible aside, the book that has been translated into more African languages than any other is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church describes Bunyan’s book as having an “unrivalled place in the world’s religious literature.” Bunyan was a shoemaker and Baptist preacher in England in the late 17th century, and he wrote Pilgrim’s Progress while in prison for his faith. It is the story of a man he names Christian who is on a journey from the “city of destruction” to the “heavenly city.” In order to enter on this journey Christian has to leave the broad way that leads to destruction, and enter through the narrow gate that leads to life. But the road ahead is one of constant struggle against the pleasures of the world. There is little opportunity for fun along the way. This image of the Christian life has been deeply embedded in the consciousness of many people over the centuries not just in the English-speaking world, but far beyond. It is a Protestant version of Dante’s famous trilogy The Divine Comedy. To get to heaven you have to travel through purgatory!

Some years ago when Isobel and I were living in Edinburgh we saw an operatic performance of Pilgrim’s Progress set to music by Vaughan Williams. The opera graphically portrayed pilgrim’s journey away from the city of destruction with all its vanities and pleasures along the hard and narrow road that eventually brought him to the celestial city. After the performance, Isobel and I both agreed that the portrayal of vanity fair in the city of destruction was far more interesting than the rest of Christian’s journey and wondered whether anyone would really be attracted to Christianity as a result of watching the opera! Is the road to life in its fullness a journey through hell and purgatory, a hard struggle without respite, pain without pleasure? As much as I would like to give an unqualified “no” the answer is both “yes” and “no.”

Yes, following the way of Jesus is costly and often hard. The gate is narrow and not everyone finds it or desires to. Jesus calls his followers to take up their cross in order to follow him. As Bonhoeffer writes in his book Discipleship, “whenever Christ calls us, his call leads us to death.” (87) Bonhoeffer describes this poignantly in his poem “Stations on the way to Freedom” written in prison shortly before his death. The way to freedom he says requires discipline, action, suffering and death – something that Bunyan’s pilgrim came to know only too well as have many others in the course of Christian history. Yes, the Christian life is challenging, and it must necessarily be so as one in which we seek to love enemies, oppose evil and do justice on behalf of those who are oppressed. The genuinely Christian life refuses to conform to the values of “vanity fair.”

But is the Christian path one of unmitigated trial and suffering that is only relieved on reaching heaven? To that we must surely answer “no”! The gate may be narrow, but as Jesus also tells us, it opens up the way into life to the full. It’s a little like learning to play a musical instrument or becoming proficient in some skill or sport. To do so requires commitment, discipline, action and even pain, for the gate is narrow, and without that you will never find enjoyment and pleasure in playing music, playing sport or painting pictures. But the more you journey along that road the more pain turns into pleasure, hell into heaven! For heaven is not simply some end point, it also describes the journey. You have to be prepared to go through the narrow gate to discover life in its fullness. After all the process of birth involves passing through a very narrow passage of considerable pain and not a few tears before discovering that being in the womb was only the beginning. If we did not go through the narrow gate we would not be alive. But little did we know at the time that there was a world outside waiting to be explored.

The problem with Pilgrim’s Progress is not the truth it conveys, but the truth it leaves largely unsaid, and the guilt that it evokes if misunderstood as is so easily done. Is there no pleasure in life without us feeling guilty about enjoying it? Is the alternative to “vanity fair” a somewhat exclusive and too often self-righteous conclave of the converted? Granted that the gate is narrow, is the path on the other side narrow, dull and boring? Are the wonderful treasures of art and music, of laughter and fun, of good food and a fine glass of wine, by definition excluded from the pilgrim’s journey? Is the Christian life a continuing narrowing of life, or a growing expansion? Is it a meal of brussel sprouts and cabbage or a Babettes’ feast?

The gate may be narrow, but the path on the other side is not narrow at all! Enter the narrow gate and you discover on the other side the beauty, joy, wonder of the meadows that stretch into the distance. It’s a little like driving through the gate at Volmoed and discovering heaven round the bend! Enter the narrow gate and you enter a new world of friendship and love, of companionship and communion that adds great depth and meaning to life. Enter the narrow gate and the scenery beyond becomes a tapestry to explore that colours and enriches life in all its dimensions. Enter the narrow gate and discover the banquet that awaits. None of this takes away the suffering and struggle that followers of the way encounter as they journey, but it places them in a different context and light in which the emptiness of “vanity fair” pales into insignificance in comparison to the fullness of life in Christ.

(John W. de Gruchy is Emeritus Professor of Christian Studies, University of Cape Town and Extraordinary Professor at the University of Stellenbosch. This is a weekly meditation given at the Eucharist service at Volmoed Christian Community Centre, Hermanus.)