Dear Friends in Jesus Christ,
Have you heard the story about a man who reached heaven? Peter was giving him a tour around heaven. When they reached the particular place Peter said, “Shhh…don’t speak, this is the place where the Catholics live. Don’t disturb them, for they believe they are the only ones here”. Sometimes people think that they will go to heaven because they are Catholic. Don’t think we automatically go to heaven because we are Catholic. Salvation is not entitled to anyone. Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many I tell you will attempt to enter, but will not be strong enough”. In order to enter into heaven, we need to live a life that Jesus will recognize us and welcome us into heaven on the last day. Otherwise Jesus will tell us, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me all you evildoers.”
Someone said there are three kinds of Christians: tugboat Christians, sailboat Christians, and raft Christians. Tugboat Christians are people who follow Jesus not only in sunny weather but also in stormy weather. They are people who follow Jesus not only when the wind and the tide serve them but also when the wind and the tide oppose them. They are people who go to Mass not because they have to but because Jesus said at the Last Supper, “Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19) They are people who help other people not because they feel like it but because Jesus said, “Love one another as I love you.” (John 15:12) In short, they are the kind of people that today’s readings exhort us to become. Sailboat Christians, on the other hand, are people who follow Jesus when the wind and the tide serve them. But when the wind and the tide oppose them, they tend to go in the direction they are blown. They are people who go to Mass when family and friends go. But left to themselves, they often miss. They are the people who ask, “How far can I go before I sin?” rather than “How much more can I do because I love?” In short, they are people who follow Jesus through the wide door but are reluctant to follow him through the narrow door. They are people who tend to follow the crowd more than they follow the Gospel. Finally, there are the raft Christians. They are Christians in name only. They don’t really follow Jesus, even when the wind and the tide serve them. If they do go in his direction, it’s only because someone pulls or pushes them. They are people who do Christian things not because they want to but because they have to. In short, they are Christians in name but not in deed.
This brings us back to today’s readings. The question they set before us is this: Are we a tugboat Christian, a sailboat Christian, or a raft Christian? Are we tugboat Christians? Do we follow Jesus in good times and in bad? Do we go with him not only through the wide door but also through the narrow door? Or are we sailboat Christians? Do we follow Jesus only in good times? Do we follow him only through the wide door? Or are we raft Christians? Are we Christians in name only? These are some of the questions today’s readings set before us. No one can answer them for us. We must do that ourselves. We prove ourselves true disciples when we face problems courageously. Let us try not to run away from the narrow way of our Christian lives. Taking the wide road is easy but it does not take us to our destination…Heaven!
Let’s close by paraphrasing a poem by the English poet John Oxenham:
To every person there opens a way:
A high way, a middle way, and a low way.
And the high soul takes the high way;
And the low soul takes the low way;
And in between on the misty flats,
The rest drift to and fro.
But to every person there opens a way:
A high way, a middle way, and a low way.
And every person decides the way his soul shall go.
God Bless You,
Fr. Tom
