Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I was a young monk, I helped with demolition work in preparation for the remodeling of our seminary building. One day a large group of junior monks and our maintenance employees were gathered to help remove the blower for the chapel’s organ because we were getting a new one. A group of organ builders were there to repurpose the blower elsewhere. Some of us crawled into the attic, helped maneuver the machine, and winched it down to the floor. Then we lowered it down four flights on a concrete staircase, a few guys pushing while others braced it with tow ropes.
It was not a delicate process… Let’s just say the machine became more aerodynamic as it descended. Bolts and eyeholes were shorn off as metal brushed against concrete. Despite this, the organ builders didn’t seem to mind. These little parts were not essential; only the main, inner components were integral.
Today Jesus says that getting into heaven is like squeezing through a narrow gate. Why? Because the narrow gate is in the shape of Christ Himself! In John’s gospel Jesus states, “I am the gate” (10:9). If He is a gate, He restricts our movement to His will, but in doing so we are safe from wolves and robbers and are led to bountiful pasture. To enter through the gate that is in the shape of Christ, we must be conformed more perfectly to His image.
In the spiritual life God, chastises us by knocking off the nonessentials. At times this is painful, making us give up control of what we think is the best course of our life, humbling us, or even taking away something we enjoy—an evil in itself or a good we’ve made an idol. The more we stop resisting and let the bolts fly off, the happier and faster we end up in our desired homeland.
Yet even after I have rooted out sin, chosen to turn to God’s will, I may notice inequalities remain no matter how hard I try. I notice those who seem better able to quiet themselves and pray while we are distracted; cradle Catholics notice the fervor in later converts; or maybe you wrestle with temptation while others seem holy.
Be that as it may, St. Catherine of Siena says that God made each of us both a beggar and a giver. I am a beggar reliant on God’s grace so that I don’t become complacent, as if we got in shape once so that I never have to exercise again. Also, I’m a giver that in the diversity of God’s plan may fulfill a mission of leading others to the narrow gate. I do not worry whether I am first or last in the Kingdom as long as I have given up nonessentials to attain it. Charles Cardinal Journet says: “There must be every sort of thing in God’s garden, not only all the different flowers but grass, too, and pebbles in the paths. And, after all, it is a fine thing to be only a pebble in the paths of Paradise!” (The Meaning of Grace).
Reflection by Fr. Pachomius Meade, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections