One of my favorite books is The Road Less Traveled by F. Scott Peck. It begins with the premise that life is difficult and, when we accept the notion that life is difficult, then life becomes easy. That concept seems inconsistent at first but, when you reflect on it a bit more, it makes sense. The point the author is trying to make is that many things in life are beyond our control. Once we accept that notion, then we can find a place of peace, even when things don’t go our way, and life becomes easier.
That point is made in the First Reading this week: “it is necessary to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.” But we are tempted to ask why; why would God make it so hard to enter into his kingdom? The answer to that is really quite simple. God does not make it hard to enter His kingdom. We do. We do that by the choices we make.
In the Second Reading, John paints a beautiful image of what the “new” heaven will be – a place of peace – without death, without pain, without mourning. A place where all things are new. John describes a place where we all want to be. So why is it so hard to get there? Because, too often, we lose sight of what it takes to get there. We get caught up in the things of this world, instead of focusing on the place that John describes.
But, as always, Jesus comes through for us and really simplifies what we need to do. In the Gospel today, He explains in giving us a new commandment: Love one another. He goes on to say that we need to love one another as He loved us. It is that simple, nothing fancy or complicated – just love one another. If each and every one of us did that, accepted that and lived it – then entering into the kingdom of God would no longer be hard – it would be easy! Let it start with you today!
Deacon Randy
Comments
There are no comments yet - be the first one to comment: