We were four in the car, two in the front, two in the back. Life was good, we were just past our teens, all had good jobs, and places of our own. We didn’t think much about the future, just about what we would do on the weekends. This time it was a short trip across the border from Vancouver, where we lived, to Blaine, Washington, to pick up some American beer. On our way back, we had to go through customs.
No one really thought about what questions the border guard would ask. We were all of age and Canadian citizens, so we didn’t think about it much. As we got closer to the checkpoint, someone said that we shouldn’t let them know that we have beer in the trunk because we might not be allowed to keep it. It was our first time. What did we know?
As we pull up to the gate, the border guard gives us a look over and sternly asks, “Where are you from?” We all say in unison, “Vancouver!” “Anything to declare?” he shoots back. It was then that the truth began to slip out. The two guys in the front replied with a flat “No,” while at the same time the two in the back said “Yes.” Rolling his eyes, the border guard sighs and says, “OK, let’s try this again.” “Anything to declare?” The front two, now fearing for their lives, blurted out a responding YES, while the two in back moused a No.
He looks at us as he points to the station and orders, “Park over there.” Soon, another guard shows up and begins to tell us that lying to a border guard is a federal offence, but he would do us a favour and let us dump out all the beer before letting us pass. It was the quickest case of beer that we ever went through.
Crossing borders can be tense because we are often asked simple and direct questions, and our answers can lead to unpleasant consequences. The experience can be made even more perilous if we are not sure of our answers. Eventually, with enough interrogation, truth prevails.
Life begins with trusting the people around us. What happens to us as children has a strong impact on the people and things that we will trust as we grow older. Our understanding of what truth is can also change over time as we test and challenge our version of it as we move through life. Growing older, we tend to ask more inquisitive questions and seek more detailed answers. Especially when we want to travel into our past, looking for answers to problems that persist.
When Jesus talks about finding our way to the truth, he tells us that it is not going to be an easy journey. We first have to pass through the narrow door. A door where only one person can pass through at a time, and only after undergoing very probing questions. Where are you going? What will you do? Who do you know here? We are asked. The questions can be intimidating.
It seems harsh, cruel even, coming from the one who gives us the Beatitudes. The one who offers blessings for being poor in spirit, mournful, and persecuted. Most people don’t like to be questioned about where they are going or what they do. People don’t like to follow rules or be told what to do. Eventually, as more questions are asked, people tend to become defensive. But eventually the truth comes out and we realize that Jesus is only doing this for our benefit.
Words like discipline and obedience have become like curse words these days as people seek to be free from anything that causes them pain or discomfort. In their pursuit of self-autonomy, they lose out on any real appreciation of what suffering and sacrifice are, or how to use them as a way to know the truth of what Jesus has to offer. To know the meaning and value of what eternal life and love are, and to experience the mercy of God and how to share it with others. These truths are only revealed to us when we knock on the narrow door in our lives and ask Jesus to let us in.
See you on the other side,
Fr. John
