“Everyone gets an award!” is a motto that could describe many schools today, where kids get trophies for merely participating in sports, rather than for winning.
This notion has permeated Christianity with the slogan, “We all go to heaven,” which is called universalism, a tempting belief that God will hand everyone trophies in the afterlife.
Problem is, this idea clashes sharply with Christ’s teachings.
There’s that passage where he talks about good trees bearing good fruit and bad trees producing rotten fruit. Since he wasn’t an arborist, it’s clear he’s talking about people, when he says bad trees will be “thrown into the fire.”
Another time, he mentions the road to destruction, which evidently is pretty crowded: “Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and those who enter through it are many.”
Imagine crowds of people, whose lives revolve around satisfying their appetites and harming others, traipsing down this path.
Adulterers, rapists, murderers, seducers, fornicators and gluttons are likely travelers on the dark road, but make room also for corrupt politicians, wealthy folks who ignore the poor and movie goddesses parading around in “naked” dresses.
Fortunately, Christ mentions another path, but it’s not easy: “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
In the beatitudes, Jesus describes the folks we might meet on this path. “Blessed are the clean of heart” reminds me of the young couple whose wedding I attended last weekend, who had promised God to remain pure until marriage.
“Blessed are the merciful” evokes a story about Mother Teresa, who rescued a man dying on the streets of India, bathed and fed him, and gave him a comfortable bed. He said, “I lived as a poor man, now I’m dying like a king.”
The peacemakers are also blessed, and exist in families where arguments erupt and escalate, unless someone gently intercedes. So are the meek, who don’t promote themselves, nor insist on getting their own way.
Throughout the world, especially in Africa and the Middle-East, Christians are being tortured and killed rather than denying their faith, and Christ devotes two beatitudes to martyrs. “Your reward is great in heaven.”
Christianity involves sacrifices, sometimes of sexual desire, other times of physical comforts, worldly power, consolation — and sometimes of life itself.
True Christianity is a radical path that turns the world upside-down. The world praises the rich, the powerful, the aggressive, the sexy and the braggarts, but Christ blesses the poor, the meek, the chaste, the humble.
The radical path means giving up TV shows saturated with sex scenes, refusing to buy stuff just to keep up with the Joneses and praying for people we’d like to smack.
In many churches, sin isn’t mentioned and the devil has become a quaint symbol because “I’m OK — You’re OK” has replaced the Gospel’s real message.
The lines at confession are shorter, because we’re reminded constantly that God loves us, even if we’re sinners. No one wants to recall that Jesus’ first words when he began his ministry were, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”
Yes, God is a loving father, but wise parenting means setting boundaries and establishing rules.
The narrow way isn’t meant to scare us, but to shake us out of complacency, and entice us to reflect on our lives. Let’s not assume everyone else is heading down the road to destruction, while we’re trotting along the right path. Let’s pray we’ll find the highway to heaven and stick to it.
Lorraine recently wrote a study guide on Flannery O’Connor to accompany Bishop Robert Barron’s video series “Catholicism: The Pivotal Players.” Her email is lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com
About the Author
