Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
There are also probably large amounts of people who think that, as long as you’re not Hitler or Stalin, then you can go to heaven, too. We presume Hell is only for those who are the worst of the worst, and that you have to do something horribly evil even to be considered for Hell. In contrast to that, Jesus says in today’s Gospel that “many…will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough” to go through the narrow gate. It’s not even enough to have dined with Jesus and listen to His teaching. There is something more that is required.
We honestly don’t know much about what exactly it will take for us to go to heaven. Jesus didn’t give us a list to check off or leave blank, and if we get everything done, and don’t do any of the things on the naughty list, then we’ll get in. We do know that the ordinary way of preparing to go to heaven is through baptism. But even that is simply a beginning to our salvation, not the end. We also know that part of our judgment is how we treated Jesus by the way we treated the least of His brothers and sisters (see Matthew 25, and the parable about the Rich Man and Lazarus). But even in those accounts, there is surprise: surprise by those who cared for Jesus when He was in need; surprise by those who didn’t care for Jesus when He was is need; surprise by the Rich Man who enjoyed a pleasant life on earth, but then ended up in Hell.
I think part of our issue is that we often view heaven like becoming an Eagle Scout: if I get all the right merit badges by the time I die, then God has to give me the reward. Instead, I believe the Lord, in today’s Gospel, is inviting us to view our path to heaven in a similar way to a marriage.
After all, a good, happy, and holy marriage is not about doing this and not doing that. Certainly there are things you should do, and things you shouldn’t do. Do remember your anniversary and your spouse’s birthday; don’t have an affair. Do things that your spouse will appreciate; don’t verbally or physically abuse your spouse. Do things that make your spouse’s life easier and more enjoyable; don’t treat your spouse like you would treat a maid or butler. And the list goes on.
But, the loving husband (the image that comes easiest to me as a guy; but ladies, just flip it around for yourselves as a loving wife) isn’t checking-off the boxes of things that need to be done. He anticipates his beloved’s needs and wants, and does his best to fulfill them. He prioritizes his wife above everything other than God, and shows that priority by the way he works, the way he takes time off, the words he says to her, the things he does for her, the way he loves their children, etc. The couple who has been happily married for 50 years didn’t get there by only having a great wedding and celebration, or only doing the things that were the bare minimum for the relationship. The happily married couple was always looking for new ways to grow in their love for each other and express it in word and deed.
Is that how we view our relationship with God? Because heaven is simply being with God forever, and God will not force us to be with Him if we don’t want to be. If we’re not in love with God, then we may find the teaching that skipping Mass without a good reason (and no, sports is not a good reason) could lead you to Hell very difficult. But if we love God, we work the rest of our day, even our recreation, around Him, because we want to spend time with Him. If we’re not in love with God, then following the Church’s teaching to not use artificial contraception is going to seem “out of touch.” But if we love God, we see that the sexual act has a meaning given to it by God, and when we go against that meaning, we do not express love in the way God wants us to express it.
The key that Jesus gives us today, it seems to me, on how to get to heaven is precisely about if we showed our love for Him by following Him. It wasn’t simply about being the Chosen People; people “from the east and the west and from the north and the south” would be entering the kingdom of God because they fell in love with God and made Him the most important part of their life. I think Jesus would say to us that it’s not simply about being a baptized Catholic, or going through the motions of what our faith requires (hearing the teachings of Jesus, getting the right sacraments, and making sure to avoid the big sins). It’s about being in love with Him and letting that love be manifest by the choices we make in our home, in our office, in our recreation, in our voting, and in every aspect of our life. Listen to the words of the Letter to the Hebrews: “Make straight paths for your feet.” Set out for heaven, not as a task to be accomplished with certain actions to be avoided, but as the final destination of a heart transformed by the love of God which seeks to grow ever more deeply in love with the One who first loved us.
