Matthew 7:7-14
The Daily Office
Yesterday was Michaelmas, a major feast day, which necessitated a break in our pattern of reading through Matthew’s Gospel. And to be honest, I don’t think that the Daily Lectionary in our Prayer Book arranges this particular chapter very well for daily reading.
Verses 7-8, in my humble opinion, need to be paired with verses 13-14. Read verses 7-8 by themselves, and Jesus sounds like he’s issuing a blank check. Read verses 13-14 apart from verses 7-8, and a seeker of God might wonder, what’s the use of trying? Read them together, and they complement each other. Verses 13-14 guide us to “ask” for the right thing. Verses 7-8 are the assurance that we won’t be alone on that narrow road, but that our hand will be held along the way.
The “small” gate is the one through which we must squeeze to get through. It is the uncomfortable gate that challenges our presumptions of what is right doctrine, or right morality. It is the uncomfortable gate that we find ourselves squeezing through with unfamiliar people, not the ones we might have expected to choose this gate. In fact, this gate is so small that we might find ourselves a distinct minority, with the majority casting suspicious glances our way.
But Jesus also promises us: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” And Jesus has already guided us in what we should seek. “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6:33). God has opened his heart to you. Open your heart to God, and to those who squeezing in with you, and see it transformed.
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