Each day, the souls of more than 150,000 people pass from this
life into eternity. That’s more than 6,000 each hour, or 100 each minute. Have
you ever wondered what happens to them all? Where do they go? Jesus’ teaching
holds forth two, and only two, eternal destinations for the human soul — either
everlasting fulfillment in heaven, or everlasting torment in hell. Dare we hope
that most people go to heaven? Some spiritual writers, most notably St. Clement
of Alexandria and St. Gregory Nazianzen, believed that God's mercy was so great
that most souls were saved. Many other saints, most notably St. Augustine and
St. Thomas Aquinas, believed that evil was so pervasive and sin so corrupting,
that most souls were lost.
If you’ve ever wondered about the comparative population
statistics of heaven and hell, no scripture passage addresses the subject more
directly than the Gospel we hear this week. As Jesus passed through the towns
and villages, someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Note
how Jesus’ reply is directed not to idle curiosity, but rather to the eternal
salvation of the inquirer. Jesus does not say, “Most will be saved,” or “Most
will be lost.” Such knowledge does the questioner no practical good. Jesus’
answer, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate” (Lk 13:24), is exactly what
we need to hear. Imagine for a moment if Jesus said, “Most people end up in
hell.” What happens? Your heart grows saddened and slouches into
discouragement. The opposite reply has even worse consequences. If Jesus had
answered, “Most people go to heaven,” would anyone put forth the hard effort
needed to conquer sin and overcome selfishness?
Salvation is a mysterious reality. Contrary to popular opinion,
Christians do not believe that heaven is a reward we earn for good behavior.
Eternal salvation is not a mercenary transaction in which God conveys the
kingdom of heaven in exchange for a lifetime of prayers recited, church attended
and commandments kept. Christians believe, rather, that heaven is an utterly
unmerited gift, and yet a gift that requires that we strive with all our heart,
mind, soul and strength to receive it.
A metaphor for salvation once used by Franciscan Father Benedict
Groeschel is the most helpful I’ve ever heard. Imagine a man drowning at sea.
Someone on a nearby ship catches sight of the man and mercifully throws out a
rope. A voice from the ship cries out, “Grab the rope!” With all his strength,
the drowning man grabs hold of the rope, and holds on tight until he is safely
aboard. “Thank you,” the man says, “You’ve saved my life.” Sin makes us like
the drowning man, powerless to save ourselves. God the Father is like the one
who throws the rope, Jesus Christ is the rope, and the Holy Spirit is the voice
that tells us to grab hold. Thus, salvation is a gift, and yet we must strive
with all our being to receive it. We “strive” to receive it by observing the
commandments (Jn 14:15), by keeping the priorities of the Lord and not those of
this world (Gal 1:10), by remaining faithful to prayer (1 Thess 5:17), by
taking the teachings of the church to heart (Lk 10:16), and by persevering to
the end (Mt 24:13).
Imagine if an angel from heaven appeared in the middle of Mass
and announced, “Everyone at Mass today is going to hell — except for just one
person.” If you took those words to heart, fought to conquer sin and to be
faithful to the voice of Christ, you would become that “one person.” Imagine if
that same angel were to announce, “Everyone at Mass today is going to heaven — except
for just one person.” If you gave up on prayer, began living by the whims of
the secular world instead of the commandments of Christ, and indulged every
sinful inclination, you would become that “one person.” Christ will not fail to
give us every material and spiritual gift we need, and if we persevere in his
love, nothing will separate us from him (Rom 8:39). That’s all the assurance we
are given, and thankfully, all the assurance we need.
Fr. Hudgins is pastor of St. Jude Church in
Fredericksburg.