Ephesians 6:1-9 / Luke 13:22-30
We know as a matter of fact that compliance to the law is not an option or a matter of choice.
Obedience to the law is done not out of favour but it is demanded as such. Only then will there be stability and uniformity.
Of course non-compliance and disobedience will be met with punishment and dissidents might be forcefully eradicated so as to sound out a warning for others.
Yet, when God gives us a law or a commandment, then obedience to Him becomes an act of faith.
Because we believe that God loves us and His laws and commandments are for our good and we receive His blessings of love when we abide by His ways.
Hence when St. Paul, in the 1st reading, urged children to be obedient to their parents and slaves to their masters, he was actually asking them to have recourse to their faith in God.
Because when children obey their parents and slaves their masters, they are actually obeying God and they will inherit God's blessings.
Yet obedience to human authority can be difficult because we are wounded by sin and hence we have a rebellious tendency.
That is why in the gospel Jesus tells us to enter by the narrow door - the narrow door of obedience made in faith.
We must believe that behind that narrow door lies God's abundant blessings of peace and joy.