Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel passage from Matthew is one that rightly gives us pause. Wait a second – did Jesus just say that most people head toward destruction and that only a few find the road that leads to life? Does this mean that most of the people I know are going toward destruction? And what does it mean about me? How do I know if I’m on the right path, heading toward the narrow gate?
Such questions might bring on more anxiety than we ought to have, especially if we try to work this out into a percentage game as to how many people will be saved. Instead, we ought to encounter this passage in a spirit of hope and faith in God, who does not want us to be destroyed. Undoubtedly, the road to destruction is an easier path to trod; it is the road celebrated by our world. It has all the allurements of comfort: nice cars, big houses, luscious food, amusing entertainment, and so on. The narrow gate is more challenging; it is the path that involves sacrifice and voluntary suffering. It is the path wherein we acknowledge that all of those comforts, while nice in some ways, are superseded by the joys that lay in store for us once we get past the gate.
It’s a difficult trick to navigate this life and to celebrate creation and the gifts of the world while always remembering that it is not our final resting place. And again, we might look at this reading in a hopeless manner, imagining that we will not be able to make it on our own.
Indeed, we cannot make it on our own. If we look at the first reading taken from 2 Kings, we see the remnant of the Hebrew people in a desperate situation. While the rest of the people were taken off in captivity to Assyria, the tribe of Judah, alone among the 12, remains in Jerusalem. They cannot rest easy in Jerusalem; in fact, the king of Assyria sends a message to the king of Judah making it clear that their days in Jerusalem are numbered. As they have dismantled the rest of Israel, they plan to wipe out Jerusalem and scatter the Judahites. King Hezekiah has no recourse, no response on his own. He does not have the troops or the defenses to withstand an Assyrian attack.
But Hezekiah is not hopeless. In his desperation, his utter dependence on God is evident. Instead of looking to his own fallible, human strategizing, he heads to the Temple and prays before God. And God answers his prayer, driving away the Assyrians and their king. Just because something is difficult does not mean it is impossible. The road to destruction is broad, and that path is an easy and appealing one. But the narrow gate is opened to us when we rely on God to guide our steps. When we depend on God and live for God, we will be given all the strength we need to stay that path that leads to eternal life. Moreover, when we willingly take on the necessary burdens of that journey, will we find a joy that far exceeds the earthly comforts of cars, houses, food, entertainment and the like. Such a joy will draw others to us; they will want to walk with us our lives are a testament to the rewards of life lived in Christ.
Today, let us turn our eyes toward heaven as we complete the daily earthly tasks of our lives. Let us depend to God, looking to Him to make up all the strength we lack.
—Maria Morrow