The Three Brothers

Working on our salvation with fear and trembling

08/21/2022

Lk 13:22-30 Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us.' He will say to you in reply, 'I do not know where you are from. And you will say, 'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.' Then he will say to you, 'I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!' And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Most of us do not give much thought to whether or not we will be saved. We think salvation is easy and for everyone, so we don’t worry about it. We would be in the same boat as three brothers who all died on Easter Sunday. They arrived at the Pearly Gates and were met by St. Peter. Peter said: “Well, none of you have been that good, but none of you have been that bad either.” He quickly reviewed their life histories, and continued: “I tell you what. Since today is Easter if just one of you can tell me the true meaning of this holy day, all three can enter heaven. If not, then you will all go to the other place.

The first brother stepped up and said, “Yeah, Easter, that’s the holiday where the fat guy in red gives everyone presents.” Peter shook his head and said: “No, I’m afraid that’s not right.” The second brother answered, “Easter is when everyone gets together, lights fireworks, and eats barbeque.” Peter said again, “No, that’s not right at all.” Finally, the third brother steps forward, and Peter reminds him their salvation hangs on his next words. He says: “Okay, Easter. So, a long time ago there was a guy named Jesus. And he died for our sins. And anyway, after he died, he was buried in this cave.” Peter said very hopefully: “Yes…and then what happened?” The third brother continued: “So anyway, three days later Jesus rises from the dead. And if he sees his shadow that’s how we know if we have six more weeks of winter.” So, you see, salvation is not easy and not for everyone., at least not for the three brothers.

In the gospel today, someone else is wondering who all will be saved. He asks Jesus: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Now, wouldn’t it be nice if Jesus had answered: “Oh, what a ridiculous question! Not a few but everyone will be saved!” But sadly that is not what Jesus said. What Jesus really said in the gospel was: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.” In other words, Jesus suggests in no uncertain terms that salvation will not be easy and it will not be for everyone, like it was not for those three brothers who did not know the meaning of Easter.

Let me give you three ways of thinking about salvation so you can give a better answer than those three brothers when you arrive at the Pearly Gates. First, St. Augustine said, “Man is limited by the sacraments, but God is not.” What does the Doctor of Grace mean by that phrase? Well, as Catholic Christians we know the surest road to salvation is the seven stepping stones of the sacraments. We must be baptized, we must be confirmed, we must go to Mass, we must be married in the Church, we must seek God’s grace at the hands of ordained priests, we have to go to confession at least once a year, and we have to be anointed before we die.

If Roman Catholics do those seven things then we stand a good chance of being saved. But are we doing even those seven simple things? Do we skip Mass on Sunday? When was the last time we went to confession? How many Catholics are getting married outside the Church, or getting married at all? In other words, even for Roman Catholics salvation is not easy and not for everyone. We don’t need to worry about what God will do with non-Catholics, we have enough to worry about with what God will do with us.

Second, I love how Pope John Paul II understood the ancient adage, “Extra Ecclesiam, nulla salus.” Of course we all know that means “There is no salvation outside the Church.” In other words, we believed that only Catholics were going to heaven. Now, that is still true, but John Paul II sort of softened that saying, and put the burden back on Catholics. He said, we do not know if people outside the Church will be saved. But we do know that the people inside the Church will not be saved if we don’t share the Good News. Why?

Because Jesus said in Lk 12:48: “Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required.” And we Catholics have been given the fullness of the Christian faith, so we should generously share our faith with the world. We should not be greedy with God’s grace or hoarders of holiness. By the way, do you know the twelfth step of Alcoholics Anonymous? It is to share the sobriety you have discovered with others. What happens if you don’t complete the 12th step? You are still an alcoholic. The same is true for us Catholic Christians. If we do not share our salvation, then we are not saved.

And third, I love the humor of Archbishop Fulton Sheen when he described who would and would not be in heaven. He joked: “When we get to heaven, there will be three surprises. First, there will be people in heaven we did not expect to make it (maybe your mother-in-law might make it). Second, there will not be people there we fully expected to make it (maybe Fr. John will not make it). And third, the biggest surprise of all is that we ourselves might make it to heaven." In other words, salvation is not easy and it is not for everyone. Don’t take God’s grace for granted, like the three brothers who did not know the meaning of Easter.

By the way, did you notice the common thread in all three perspectives by St. Augustine, St. John Paul II, and Venerable Fulton Sheen? They all agreed that we should stop worrying about whether other people will be saved or not. Will the Russians be saved? Will the Muslims be saved? Will the Democrats be saved? Will the Republicans be saved? Will my parents be saved? Will my children be saved? Instead, we have enough to worry about with our own salvation. Why? Because salvation is not easy and not for everyone, maybe not even for us.

Praised be Jesus Christ!