Highway to Hell

Leaving behind good intentions and acting on them instead  

Matthew 8:18-22  

When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”   

          You’ve no doubt heard the maxim that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” That means that people sometimes say they will do lots of good things but never follow through, or sometimes they even do the opposite of what they intend. St. Catherine of Siena, the 14th century Dominican nun and doctor of the Church, famously said, “One drop of contrition could empty hell” (The Dialogue of Divine Providence). But hell is not empty precisely because the people there only talk a good game but never actually repent; they don’t really want to change.   

          Did you ever see the political thriller movie called, “V For Vendetta”? There’s not much to recommend that movie, except one scene. V, who wears the Guy Fawkes mask, confronts Delia Surridge, whose scientific experiments created the monstrous V. Delia tries to justify her immoral work by saying, “Is it wrong to hold on to that kind of hope?” And V answers chillingly: “I have not come for what you hoped to do. I’ve come for what you did.” You see, Delia had good intentions – hopes to change the world for the better – but that didn’t change the gruesome fact that she experimented on human beings. It is not enough simply to want to do the right thing; at some point you must stop talking about it, and actually do it. Otherwise, you’re only paving a smooth ride on the highway to hell.   

          In the gospel today, Jesus confronts two would-be disciples who also have good intentions, but they lack follow-through. One boldly says, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” But Jesus sees through his shallow good intentions and tells him he won’t be able to endure the suffering and hardship that inevitably ensue. Another makes what looks like a very reasonable request, saying, “Let me go first and bury my father.” Again, Jesus see through the thinly veiled ruse, and challenges this flimsy excuse: “Let the dead bury their dead.” Like V, Jesus tells his well-intentioned disciples that he is not interested in what they hope to do, but rather in what they will do. At some point, you must stop talking and simply act.   

          My friends, ask yourself today: am I a bundle of good intentions, or do I actually follow-through on what I say I will do? I’ve occasionally counseled young ladies who are in love with abusive men. The men promise to change and the ladies believe them, and so they agree to marry them. If I had a dime for every time that happens, I would be a rich man. These men not only pave the road to marriage with good intentions, but also another road, and they want someone else along for the ride. People put off making a good confession or even going to church until they are older and have more time (not you all, of course). They have good intentions to be more spiritual and religious, but they do not act. They lack even “one drop of contrition.” Just think of all the things we say we will do in the course of a day – all our good intentions – but the day ends and the only progress we’ve made is to pave a few feet on the road to perdition.   

          Folks, at some point we must stop talking and simply act. One day the angel of death will arrive at the door and say to us, “I have not come for what you hoped to do, but for what you did.” Start doing good today.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!