Luke 13:22-30
Which of the following
statements do you agree with?
- I'll go to heaven because all paths lead to heaven.
- I'll go to heaven because I have faith.
- I'll go to heaven because I am a good person, generally.
- I'll go to heaven because I go to church and make my family go to church.
The man who asked Jesus
the question today was probably thinking along these lines; there was
a controversy among the Jews about who would be saved – some said
you had to be Jewish and that was enough. Some, like the pharisees,
said you had to rigorously follow all the commandments of Moses,
otherwise you were lost. Still others said that it was even possible
for gentiles to be saved, so long as they followed the seven
commandments of Noah which were given to the whole human race. And
of course there was a school of thought among the jews that once you
died, you were dead – no life after death; the Sadducee.
Jesus actually answers
that question, but not the way the man had hoped. Jesus says “you
have to strive to enter through the narrow gate.” And he suggests
that some who are trying won't be strong enough. Now if you had
heard that statement in the Greek of Jesus' time – because that's
the only record we have of what Jesus had been preaching in the
Aramaic language – it would have sounded like this: you have to
agonize like an athlete to enter. What did Jesus mean? I could
point to someone like tom brady who is out throwing passes for three
or four hours a day, when he isn't doing wind sprints or lifting
weights. And we all know that anyone who achieves excellence didn't
get there by accident, even a Kardashian.
First, striving means
diligence. Deuteronomy says “seek the lord with all your heart”.
There can be no compromise; there has to be passion. Second,
striving means mental concentration. Each of us, every day, must
make a choice. The man asking Jesus the question had not made a
choice; he was still of the opinion that he didn't have to begin
until he knew exactly what was expected. Not true. St Paul talks
about “seeing through a glass darkly” and that's how we have to
go about our lives – moving, not standing around. Third, striving
means self-denial. Tom Brady could be doing other things that would
probably be more fun. He has enough money. And the same is true of
us – we have to care enough about becoming what God wants for us to
put aside things that aren't helping, that may be standing in our
way.
We are all very lucky.
We get the grace of the sacraments. However, the church teaches that
a sacrament is first of all a promise of God's grace – we might
say, “virtual grace”. However, the way we respond to this act of
love on God's part will determine whether the grace offered is
received – “active grace”. Saint Augustine said, and I
paraphrase, “God acts so that I may want what he offers me, and
when we decide we want that, he cooperates with my wanting so as to
perfect in me the gift he offers.” The church has always taught
that while we receive a valid sacrament, it doesn't always mean that
the sacrament has an effect in us. I remember a classmate in medical
school. He had been admitted – he had the “virtual grace” to
become a physician. However, he had graduated from college with a
bachelor of science in economics, and spent a lot of time watching
and playing the stock market. He did not pass his tests and ended up
dropping out. He did not have “active” grace.
Jesus goes on to say in
this gospel that our opportunity is limited. Of course we could die,
or in fact lose our minds to Alzheimer's disease. But it seems as
though God in a way can give up as well. In the old testament God
“hardens pharaoh's heart” so that he resists the requests of
Moses. But in the end, pharaoh hardens his own heart. And we see
Judas as well; did God give up on him when he had totally rejected
Jesus? I think it's a real possibility; if we go through life making
no effort to actualize God's graces, does he stop? Surely there is
always mercy, but only if we turn back to him.
Jesus also makes it clear
that just listening to the gospel, going to church on Sunday, doing
other pious acts is not enough; we have to cooperate with God's grace
with faith, hope and indeed with love, because grace is God loving
us, and he does so so that we will love him back.
Sometimes Jesus says
things that imply that the vast majority of mankind will be saved.
He talks about the fact that he came to save all men, and being God,
can he be denied? In the consecration at mass, our priest repeats
the words “for you and for many”. Jesus compares the word of God
to a leaven that eventually leavens all the bread dough. But there
are many passages which suggest otherwise, perhaps this being one, or
the story of the penitent tax collector, or the story of the rich man
and Lazarus. You can pretty much read these the way you want. What
you can't do, according to Jesus, is be saved without your own
struggle, a struggle like an athlete in training, a violinist
preparing for a major concert. Your salvation is a gift of God, but
you have to grasp the gift through your efforts. Another saying from
Saint Augustine, “God chose to create you without your willing it,
but chooses to save you only through your willing it.”
Have a plan of life.
Daily private prayer and a little spiritual reading; weekly holy mass
and communion: regular and frequent confession; periodic recollection
through a retreat or a mission to see how you are doing. And its a
good thing to have someone to talk about faith with; it helps clarify
our thinking and nourish our enthusiasm. Then the grace that is
waiting to break through and turn you into a disciple, into a saint,
will be unleashed.
