The only path that leads to the resurrection

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Stephen Colbert is a well-known comedian, political satirist and host of the Tonight Show. He is also a devout Catholic (well as devout as a comedian can be), and even a religious education teacher in his home parish. A few weeks ago, CNN anchor, Anderson Cooper, interviewed Colbert. It was one of the best examples of quality television that I’ve seen in years. Anderson Cooper’s mother died a few months ago and Colbert wrote Cooper a condolence letter in which he spoke of the grief he experienced when his father and two brothers died in a plane crash when he was 10 years old. Much of the CNN interview explored the grief felt by the two men and offered serious reflection on the role of suffering in life.

Colbert wrote in the letter to Cooper that over time he had the realization that he was grateful for those things that he most wish had not happened. Cooper asked him to explain the statement. Colbert explained that life is a gift from God. If we believe that, then we should be grateful for the gift of existence. If all of life is a gift from God, then we should be grateful for all the gift-the good times and the bad. He certainly wished that his father and brothers had not died in the plane crash. But he also pointed out that the Catholic tradition tells us that God is love. God has given us the world, which is an expression of His love. We are asked to accept the world with love.

Yet, it is a world with suffering. When we suffer, eventually we come to realize that everyone suffers. Suffering is part of human existence and it is a gift to exist. That realization allows us to acknowledge the suffering of others. We become open to others letting them into to our hearts and responding to them in love.


The death of his father shattered him and has impacted him in countless ways over the course of his life. He wishes that it had not happened, yet he has learned to be grateful for the grace that it brought into his life over the years.

The Gospel reading a few weeks ago was from Luke. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. Luke makes it clear that Jesus understands the suffering that he will experience in Jerusalem. His preaching has taken a more ominous quality as well. There is less talk about wedding feasts and more talk about doing the Father’s will. As Jesus spoke about the cost of discipleship, the crowds became smaller. People want the joy of the Kingdom of God, but they don’t want to hear about the challenges faced on the journey to the Kingdom.

A common understanding in Jesus time was that salvation was about communities. In the time of Moses, God intervened and brought the Jewish people out of slavery. After the defeat by the Babylonians and the subsequent period of exile, God intervened and brought the Jewish people out of captivity. The promised Messiah will free the Jewish people from the yoke of Roman oppression. In the minds of many, the Jewish people suffered as a people and they would be saved as a people. Yet, Jesus is challenging his listeners. Salvation isn’t just because you are part of a people that God has promised to save.

In the four Gospels the most common image of the Kingdom of God is a wedding feast, that is a party; a gathering of friends, neighbors and relatives who are eating, drinking, laughing, singing, dancing and having a great time. All are invited to the wedding feast, but they must make the journey.  Not everyone desires to set out on that journey. Not everyone has the strength of character to continue the journey to its end.

Jesus doesn’t deny the image of the Kingdom as a wedding feast, but he reminds us that there is a journey involved to reach the wedding feast. That journey will give us a glimpse of the Kingdom at times, but it will also take us through difficult and dangerous territory. At times, it will lead us to places we would rather not go.

“I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father, except through me.” Jesus is the narrow gate through which we enter the Kingdom of God. Yet, this isn’t about choosing Jesus like one might choose a political candidate, a sports team or a famous entertainer. To enter through the narrow gate on our journey to the Kingdom is to become like Jesus, to follow where he leads, no matter how painful it may be and no matter how much it demands changes in us.

Remember, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and to the crucifixion. He is aware of what lies ahead of him on his journey to the Father.  To follow him is to make that same journey. When Jesus told his disciples to enter the narrow gate, he knew that it would never be easy. Yet, if the narrow gate leads to Calvary, it also leads beyond Calvary to resurrection and the Mount of Ascension. It is a path that leads through suffering, but beyond suffering to the Kingdom of God. It is a path of hope and light in the darkness.

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