A car with Massachusetts plates drove up to a Canadian customs booth. When the agent asked the driver for his name, the driver was puzzled and asked, “How much?” The agent repeated the question and this time the driver answered, but when the agent attempted to question him further, the driver interrupted and told him that he wanted to pay the toll and be on his way.
“But sir, you’re not at a toll booth,” the agent patiently replied. “This is Canadian customs.” The driver paled. He had left Boston six hours earlier, heading for New York City.
How could he go so far and not notice where he was going? All it took was one wrong turn. Hopefully when that happens to us, thanks to today’s GPS systems, we discover our mistake soon enough and correct ourselves but pity that driver from Boston. He must have been dog tired by the time he got to New York City!
When we make the wrong turn on our faith journey, Jesus is here to redirect us but are we listening to him? In the Gospel, Jesus was asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Instead of responding, he said, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”
Strong enough? We need not be physically strong but we must be strong in our faith to stay on the right path as we venture through life toward our desired final destiny. Are we pursuing salvation with every ounce of our being?
God’s plan is that all peoples will be saved but Jesus warns us that not everyone will make it through the narrow gate to heaven. To make our way to heaven, we must enter into a living, lasting, growing friendship with Christ. Like any true friendship, our friendship with him involves effort, self-sacrifice, time and energy. Many people see themselves as being saved but they never really enter into a committed, life changing personal relationship with Jesus. To get through the narrow gate, we must love the Lord our God with all our strength, that is, wholeheartedly and we must also love our neighbor.
Jesus cautioned that many will be knocking and pleading to be let in. They presumed they were saved but the Master will say, “I do not know where you are from.” Despite their pleas, he then adds, “Depart from me, all you evildoers!” Jesus laments that not everyone strives to enter the kingdom of God. The cost to enter is love. Of the many commandments that exist, the greatest is to love the Lord and to love our neighbor. Regrettably not everyone is willing to pay that cost.
Many opportunities arise daily for us to follow those two commands from caring about those whom we live and work with to taking time to worship God, not just here at Mass but also in our homes in daily prayer, from caring about the less fortunate in our community to respecting the sanctity of life. The task at times can be daunting and often we have to resist the temptation to ignore our mission as his disciples.
To be saved, we must know where we are going. Anytime we ignore what Jesus expects of his followers, we are apt to make a wrong turn and venture off course. Consequently we could be driving away from rather than toward our lifelong destination of eternal life with God. When we make that wrong turn, we are being led into sin and away from God. At the start of every Mass we seek God’s mercy so clearly we see ourselves as sinners, but if we make little effort to truly repent, we are being no different than those who found themselves wailing and grinding their teeth because they didn’t make it through the narrow gate to heaven.
Not everyone is focused enough to stay on the right track when it comes to following Jesus. Doing so takes discipline. That is the striving Jesus is speaking of when it comes to getting through the narrow gate. To direct us, God blesses us with a conscience, the means to discern right from wrong but to be effective, it must be informed.
A person with an uninformed conscience may fail to see the evil in what the Church sees as a sin. For example, many see nothing wrong with missing Mass on Sundays, or supporting abortion and capital punishment, even though the taking of a life violates the fifth commandment. An informed conscience is what we must strive for, which means seeking to understand why the Church teaches what it does, so we can see what danger we put ourselves in when we ignore moral teachings that we are inclined to disagree with.
That takes discipline, which is why Jesus cautions that not every one is strong enough to make it through the narrow gate. It takes discipline for a disciple to remain focused on this life long journey.
We were all baptized at the start of our Christian journey but baptism in itself is no insurance that we will be saved. Unless we actively strive to follow Christ’s blueprint for living through prayer and reconciliation, it is easy to veer off course and become a stranger to God. Jesus is eager to help us on our faith journey to get through the narrow gate but he can’t do his part unless we strive to do our part.