Pulling no punches, Jesus warnshis disciples that followinghim will not be easy. One of Robert Frost’s better-known poems, The Road Not Taken, comes to mind as I pondered this rather strange uneasy gospel. “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could to where it bent in the undergrowth…”
How often have we found ourselves, needing to render a choice that could make a real difference, not only in our lives but also in the lives of others? Before taking that next step, we ponder the outcome and the cost. After we have thought out the first option, we then consider the alternative.
“Then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim, because it was grassy and wanted wear; though as for that the passing there had worn them really about the same.”
Ah, the other path is equally worn, so this isn’t about taking the road less traveled but about the road not yet taken. At any given point we cannot travel down two roads at the same time. We are free to choose which one to take, but we do not know beforehand what the cost will be.
“And both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.”
This poem does not suggest, quoting Yogi Berra, that “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Rather, we must take a road, but which one do we venture down?
“I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
Unless you want to stand forever where the two roads diverge, you have to make choices each day as you venture through life. We don’t want to create division but if we faithfully follow Jesus, that is bound to happen. The values we profess, evident by the path we take as Catholics, could put us at odds with others even those closest to us. The fear of being at odds with them could prompt us to wonder if we want to go down the path they are venturing instead of following Jesus.The judgment we must make each day is whether or not we are faithful to the gospel values and challenges Jesus has taught us.
Then and now, Christians have been ostracized for following Christ. The standards, which Jesus imposes on his followers, often run contrary to the values of their peers. Speaking bluntly, Jesus is cautioning those who follow him that doing so will not always bring us peace and tranquility. Instead, one may experience rejection by those who don’t want to hear the Good News.
Few of us live our discipleship with such drama but I can think of heroes who paid the price for following theprophetic example of Jeremiah and Jesus. Boldly they proclaimed the gospel and as a consequence they paid the price. The truth as they learned is both liberating and divisive. Dietrich Bonheoffer, a Lutheran minister who spoke out against Hitler and the Nazis, was killed in a concentration camp, as was St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Martin Luther King, Jr., is best remembered for sharing his dream that one day his children would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Archbishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador was killed while celebrating Mass, for preaching the gospel of nonviolence.
Closer to home, we may even know people who have been ostracized by their family and friends because they made the choice to live their Catholic faith. The decision to follow Jesus can meet harsh rejection yet they still choose to continue down the road less traveled by. They come to realize that doing so offers them a sense of peace and security that all the wealth in the world cannot offer.
Frequently, there is a high price to pay when you buy into discipleship, especially the discipleship of justice. But as someone once told me, “Christianity isn’t a spectator sport where we sit on the sidelines.” There is no easyway to be a true follower of Christ. This is as true today as it was when Jesus pulled out the rug from beneath his disciples and boldly proclaimed, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”
Many years ago as a young theologian, Pope Benedict once said that our first task is to preach the gospel; our second task is to bring the fire of God’s love to the world; and our final task is to suffer for the sake of others, as Jesus did for us. Lets not forget when we leave here that our parish mission statement echoes the same message: to love, teach, pray and serve, which means taking the road not everyone cares to travel.