Jesus pleads with us to strive to enter through the narrow gate. How do we do that in a world that says, strive for money, luxuries and rewards? Strive for first place in sports, schools and work. Strive to weigh more or less and build muscles and accomplishments.
The narrow gate, like the eye of the needle which was too small for a camel to pass through are simply metaphors for the difficulty we face in answering Christ’s invitation to follow him.
What kind of striving does Jesus want us to do?
We try to feed the poor but, en route, our tire goes flat. We do help disabled adults at a summer camp only to find our bike was stolen from our garage while we were gone. Something seems to block everything Jesus says to do or people around us try to talk us out of whatever we’re discerning is God’s will. And still we persist because the poor need the food we bring; the disabled adults need our support and strangers need to be welcomed. Never easy. It seems almost impossible getting through narrow gates.
How do we keep our focus and our ability to persist? Prayer and deepening our awareness of specific needs while learning our options, other resources, the ability to make referrals and realizing this is what our baptism means: that we will strive to do the right thing, that which helps the common good no matter what stands in our way.