Are you an optimist or a pessimist…or neither? Does the Bible teach Christians to be optimistic or pessimistic? Listen to the distinction on this made by St. Josemaria Escriva. “Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into the awareness of our freedom and into the sure power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God’s call.”
If a ball team faces a superior opponent, and believes that it will probably lose the game, more than likely they will. On the other hand, if it has an optimism that they will pull an upset, then they are willing to make rigorous demands on themselves and give unusual effort when they play the game. If they didn’t have this kind of optimism, they wouldn’t play their best.
We live in a culture of “sugary optimism.” We have this naïve belief that everything will turn out just fine. Such optimism does not recognize the need to make demands on ourselves or to engage moment-by-moment in the struggle that we call the Christian life. “Sugary optimism” thinks that the path of least resistance will win the race.
In today’s gospel passage, we listen to Jesus’ perspective on optimism (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 through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.”
Is Jesus being “sugary optimistic?” The gate into salvation is narrow. Few people are willing to struggle through the narrow gate; we humans like the wide gate that is easy to get through. We like to “go with the flow” and take the popular road that everyone else seems to be taking, rather than the “constricted” one that is bumpy and unpleasant for travelling. Jesus is certainly not being naively optimistic when he says that “those who find it are few.”
When we hear Jesus say that “few” will make it, we want to deny the truth of his words, or tell ourselves that Jesus doesn’t really mean what he says. On the other hand, if we take this to heart, we may be discouraged the way a pessimistic team is when they face a tough opponent. St. Josemaria describes the attitude of a true Christian. Knowing that the road to life is difficult, we draw on the fortitude given us by the Holy Spirit, make necessary demands on ourselves, and engage the struggle each moment of our lives. Knowing that we are dealing with a vicious enemy, we don’t let up in our pursuit of the goal. We gladly embrace the challenge of squeezing through the narrow gate and travelling up the constricted road.
Christian optimism does not rely purely on our own heroic efforts. It is built on the fact that God is supplying extraordinary help to those who ask for it. We call this extraordinary help, grace. Our victory in life does not depend on self-reliance but upon God-reliance. His grace sustains us through tough times, knowing that the power that raised the dead body of Jesus back to life is inside us, if we allow it to flow.
