enter into Way Less Travelled

The Way Less Travelled


"Enter through the narrow gate... few there are who find it."(Mt.
7:13-14). "Go out to the whole world..." (Mk. 16:15-18).

The mission entrusted to us as Christians has suffered greatly down
the centuries. It has suffered greatly in the many and various ways in
which it has been interpreted, changed, adopted, and compromised.
Without the faith that the Spirit inspires, one could easily despair
of this message ever getting a wide audience, or attracting
wide-spread attention.

If the Kingdom of God is not of this world, then neither is the
Message of God. The Christian message is such a direct contradiction
to the beliefs and values of this world, that it would be totally
unrealistic to expect it to be acceptable to those whose minds and
hearts are moulded and formed by this world. When I think of the
message, I must not think of a collection of words strung together,
containing great wisdom, and sound direction. I must think of the
SPIRIT in the words, because words, of themselves, would be incapable
of bringing change.

How come that, after all these years, only a minority have ever heard
of the Garden, and only a tiny minority of those show any great
interest in getting back there? This is something that I cannot
pretend to know, but I can, at least, express a few opinions on. Fr.
Christian de Cherge was the prior in a Cistercian monastery in
Algeria, when on May 21st. 1996, he and six of his confreres had their
throats slip by a gang of Muslim rebels.

In anticipation of such an event, because of the unleashed violence of
Algerians Muslims against all foreigners(the monks were French), Fr.
Christian had written a letter to Paris, expressing his views, loudly
proclaiming his forgiveness to those who might kill them, and asking
the French not to blame all Algerians and all Muslims for the actions
of a group of extremists. He expresses his admiration for the Muslim
religion, in which he finds 'so often the true strand of the gospel'.
He looks towards death with 'an avid curiosity' to be able to see
things from God's point of view, 'and to contemplate with him his
children of Islam just as he sees them, all shining with the glory of
Christ, the fruit of his Passion, and filled with the gift of the
Spirit, whose secret joy will always be to establish communion, and to
refashion the likeness, playfully delighting in the difference�".

Here was someone who knew that God has no grandchildren; that we all
are children of God. What I mean by this is, that I don't believe the
Christian message is for everyone, because that would imply that only
Christians can make it back to the Garden. In God's way of doing
things, such a possibility is unthinkable. I don't pretend, as I've
said already, that I fully understand the economy of God's salvation,
but I do believe that God is concerned with unity, and never uniformity.

Even among the Christian Churches, while the emphasis is on
uniformity, there is no possibility of them ever coming together. It
is a question of unity in diversity, that is based on mutual respect.
It is not a question of watering down one's beliefs, or compromising
one's truth, just to afford accommodation with another Church.
Ecumenism that is based on dishonesty cannot possibly be of God, and
cannot possibly lead to the good. Part of what it means to be a
Christian is to have total respect for other religions, that are
genuinely inspired, are obviously of God, and whose members are
sincere fellow-travellers on our journey back to the Garden.

I wrote that last paragraph to 'situate', as it were, the 'other'
religions, so that we could get back to our own, and see what we ought
to do to inherit eternal life.(Mt. 19:16). No matter which way we look
at it, we find ourselves in a minority. Better be in a minority, than
simple following the crowd, not sure where we are being led. Jesus is
very clear about what our presence on this earth should mean. We are
like yeast that is mixed with flour in baking a cake; although a tiny
portion, it completely effects the whole cake. "The kingdom of heaven
is like the yeast... until the whole mass of dough began to rise."(Mt.
13:33). "Do you not know that a little yeast makes the whole mass of
dough rise?"(1 Cor, 5:6).

We are also compared to salt which gives taste to food, and is a
preservative against food going rotten. We are also referred to as
light, and this image is easier to understand. One lit candle effects
the darkness in a whole room. Better light a candle than curse the
darkness. "You are the light of the world..."(Mt. 5:14-16).

Mother(Blessed) Teresa's witness had a profound effect on the lives of
many who are not, or never will be members of the Catholic Church.

Christianity is about attracting, not about promoting. "You will
receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, even to the ends
of the earth."(Acts 1:8). As we all head back to the Garden, then, we
discover that different people are marching to the beat of different
drums. We share a common destiny. I would much prefer to be a sincere
Hindu than a hypocritical or lukewarm Christian. My vocation is to
respond with a generous heart to the call I hear; a call that I know
is addressed to me.

There are three groups of people in most gatherings, whether that be
Church, society, or organisation. There are those who cause things to
happen; those who watch things happening; and those who haven't a clue
what's happening! It is against this that I chose the title about the
way less travelled. When I read the description given of the General
Judgement (Mt. 25), I may be surprised to find that Jesus' questions
are scandalously materialistic. He never mentions prayer, attending
church, or visiting holy shrines. He speaks about a slice of bread, a
cup of water, an item of clothing, a simple visit to a prison.

In other words, what I am asked to do is very clearly specified and
spelt out, and there is absolutely no room for ambiguity or doubt.
Jesus even goes further, less there be any misunderstanding. He tells
us "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, I will
take as being done for me."(Mt. 25:40). He really does identify
himself very closely with each and all of us; while unashamedly
showing a great preference for the poor and the marginalised, just as
he did when he walked the roads of Galilee. I can approach
Christianity on two different levels. I can approach it as a road-map
for life, full of great wisdom, and imbued with wonderful insights.

Oh, I know that I can never be totally committed to anything, in that
any level of commitment is capable of being improved on. However, I
can get a fairly accurate reflection of where I'm at relative to
travelling down this road with Jesus. The whole secret, of course, is
to allow myself be led by the Spirit. By myself, I have no way of
measuring or assessing my progress on this journey; nor do I need to
know. Suffice it to know that my heart continues to be open to the
promptings of the Spirit, and that I take each new day as a gift, with
infinite possibilities.

"For I will gather you from all the nations and bring you back to your
own land. Then I shall pour clean water over you, and you shall be
made clean. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within
you. I shall remove your heart of stone, and give you a heart of
flesh. I shall put my spirit within you... you shall be my people, and
I will be your God."(Ezek. 36:24-28).


by Fr. Jack McArdle
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