(June 25, 2019)
I was asked to speak to a youth group about the importance of attending Mass on Sunday. They were a group of good kids, most of whom showed up for youth meetings. When it came to rolling out of bed on Sunday morning and spending an hour with God, however, they fell short. I began by asking if any of them played sports. A few hands went up. “Tell me about what the coach expects of you,” I asked. One girl explained that they practiced for two hours each day after school, and devoted three or four hours on the weekend to scheduled games. Fourteen hours a week to play volleyball! “Why not tell the coach that you need more time for yourself and that you will come to practice just three days a week, and participate in games when you feel like it?” She laughed at me. “I would get kicked off the team,” she explained.
Coaches know that if players do not commit a great portion of their time to practice, they will be of little use to the team, and even if they are superior players, their absence demoralizes the team. So if a young person decides to “play by their own rules,” they will be cut from the team.
I then turned the discussion to God. “Each of us is called to be on God’s team. He is a lenient coach who asks that we show up, once a week, for practice. He knows that we are up against Satan and the forces of darkness, and that winning or losing affects how we will spend our eternity. Would you advise him to keep people on the team if they regularly miss practice? Is one hour a week an unreasonable demand?” The group became quiet. How come they didn’t honor God to the same extent that they honored their coaches? How come they didn’t take the “game of life” as seriously as they took Saturday volleyball games?
“Easy” is a favorite word in our pleasure-seeking society. “Entitled” is another favorite word. We expect life to be easy and rewards to be given whether or not we deserve them. It doesn’t take much life experience to realize that this philosophy does not hold up in the real world.
And, it doesn’t hold up in the “Kingdom of God” world, either. “Coach Jesus” spoke sobering words to his disciples (Matthew 7:6,12-14).
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
Teenagers understand the “narrow gate” that leads to success in the sports world. They know that the “easy” road leads a team to last place. They want the coach to challenge and discipline them so they are strong enough to walk the “constricted” road that leads to a championship.
Without being pessimistic about salvation, we can assume, from these words of Jesus that our “easy and entitled” society has many people walking through the wide gate and few through the narrow one. We know about the narrow gate—it is Jesus Christ, the only Son of God. We know that he alone is the way to eternal life. We pray for humility and courage to surrender our lives to Jesus and follow him especially when the road is most constrictive.
“I am the light of the world, says the Lord; whoever follows me will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
