Strong Enough for Heaven

The 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

I’m wondering if you happened to catch the list of towns that the prophet Isaiah rattled off in our first reading today: Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal, Javan. These are probably not places on your dream vacation wish list. In fact, except for dedicated students of the bible, most people have never heard of these places. Most of us couldn’t even tell you what continent they’re on without guessing!

It’s a little sobering to think that people from these towns—Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal, Javan—were wiped out… erased from the planet and all human memory.

Intellectually, everybody who’s ever studied history knows that civilizations rise and fall… they come and go. Look at ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Phoenicia, the Aztecs, the Incans, the great Chinese dynasties, even the British Empire. But we certainly don’t want to think the same about our lives—that somehow we can peak and then crash and burn. We know and believe that our souls are immortal. We are going to live forever—someplace! And boy, that “forever” better be in heaven, right? What a tragedy it would be to struggle through life only to find ourselves shut out of heaven.

Jesus tells us today that getting into heaven isn’t a sure thing. He says that the gate is narrow. He says that some people may not be “strong enough” to get in.

What does that mean—“not strong enough”?

Maybe you’ve seen the commercials on TV for Bowflex or other exercise equipment. They assure us that if we devote 30 minutes a day to their program, three times a week, within a few months we can tone up, get rid of our flab, and be a lot stronger. Are we supposed to strength-train with Bowflex to earn our way into heaven? No, I don’t think that’s what the Lord had in mind.

In the gospel, Jesus says: Strive to enter through the narrow gate. That little phrase might be better translated this way: everyone who enters must force his way in. In other words, maybe we’re supposed to be something of a gate-crasher. So maybe to be strong enough means that we’ve got to be intellectually strong and clever.

Now, I’ve read that experts these days are suggesting that a good way to ward off the onset of Alzheimer’s is by keeping our brain exercised. Things like crossword or Sudoku puzzles are great. But I don’t think that struggling to figure out the clue to16-across or 27-down is what Jesus had in mind, either.

Even the apostles were perplexed by what the Lord said. In our weekday mass readings this past week, we read the story of the rich young man (Mt 19:16-30) who asked Jesus what he had to do to be saved. Christ told him to keep the commandments. He said that he did. “What else?” he asked. Jesus said that he should sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and then come follow him.

The disciples were “greatly astonished” to learn that wealth and possessions and worthy charitable deeds and even recommended religious practices can’t save us—and in fact, these things might even get in the way of our life with God. So in amazement, the disciples asked Jesus what we all want to know: “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus replied: Humanly speaking, no one. But with God, everything is possible (Mt 19:26).

So, our very best efforts are not going to be enough to buy, barter, earn, or bribe our way into heaven. We are saved by faith—and faith is a free gift from God.

That makes perfect sense, of course. That’s how an innocent, little child can be “strong enough” to get into heaven. Aha! The strength that’s required is embracing the gift of faith that has been offered to us.

In case you’re wondering how that can be done, here are some of the ways.

We have to be strong enough to be humble and ask for the gift of eternal life in our prayer.

We have to be strong enough to live simply and not get too caught up in pursuing the money, possessions, and other benchmarks of success promoted by the world.

We have to be strong enough to trust God in his providence, knowing that he loves us deeply and will always see to our needs.

We have to be strong enough to flee from temptation and sin because they are brick walls and dead-ends along our path.

And yes, we have to be strong enough to acknowledge our weakness and seek forgiveness when we mess up—probably multiple times every day!

So you can see that getting into heaven is the simplest thing in the world… but also the most demanding. It definitely takes strength. We’ve got to pray for ourselves, and for each other, for the divine strength we all need. May God smile upon us and help us succeed.