Pastor’s Reflection

“A Road Less Taken”

A narrow gate? Jesus uses the image to talk about the way of the disciple. Central to Luke’s parable of this weekend is the idea that everyone is invited to participate in the journey of dying to a self-centered life and rising to one of generosity and mercy. Everyone is invited to follow the way of life as portrayed by Jesus in the Gospels.  The “narrow gate” opens onto a path that is not our usual first choice.

Some narrow gates don’t draw one to squeeze through. Kids might be the first to give it a try. We adults prefer to coast through the bigger, broader ones. Some are the passages of self-service, not other-service; the gate of ease and comfort, not hardship; the gate of power and influence, not the one of selfless surrender. Few naturally choose the “narrow passages.”

It is the road less travelled” as Robert Frost coined it. Jesus invites us into an inverted world, one that seems turned upside down. In this noble reign, all are infinitely loved by a God who pursues us and welcomes them into an intimate relationship distinguished by generosity, service, and mercy. It’s a relationship defined by the word “love.”

Self-emptying love (The Greek word was Kenosis) by its very nature takes us out of stasis. That’s what marriage is all about. That’s what raising a child is all about. That’s what family is all about. It is what community service does in its finest.  Love is about solidarity, not individualism. It’s about community, not aloneness. It’s about sharing, not taking. It’s about service, not self-satisfaction. But our natural response to all this is to say that it’s too hard, too difficult, too demanding.

Songwriter Leonard Cohen says, “There is a crack in everything, and that’s how the light gets in.” Our faith journey is one of striving to find the cracks in order to see the light of hope. It’s one that embraces the old saying that goes: “The candle says to the darkness, ‘I beg to differ.’ ” Strive for divine compassion, “…as your heavenly Father is compassionate.” Strive to “Forgive seventy times seven, as your Father does.” Strive to “Seek first the kingdom of God.” Strive to be among those to whom the Lord will say, “I was hungry and you gave me food.”

To enter through the narrow gate means to slim down, breathe deeply and scrunch through. To follow Jesus, to that kind of love is a great adventure that begins with the first washed feet.

A gentle week,
Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM

Adapted from a reflection by Celebration’s Ted Wolgamot.