Marcellino D’Ambrosio, Ph.D.
(used with permission of The Crossroads
Initiative. c. February 2007)
Peter. Paul. Isaiah. Frodo Baggins. They
have more in common than meets the eye.
Of course there are differences, too. Peter is
a small business man, trying to wring a living
for his family out of a lake in Hicksville. No
one expected much from Galilee. Its inhabitants
had a thick country accent that gave them away
every time, like when Peter denied Christ in the
high priest’s courtyard (Mat 26:73). Saul, on
the other hand, was cosmopolitan, highly
educated, well traveled, and even a Roman
citizen. Isaiah lived seven centuries before
them, in a very different social context. Frodo
Baggins lived in Middle Earth, which is to say,
in the imagination of J.R.R. Tolkein, and now
lives in the imaginations of millions.
But here’s what they have in common. They were
all minding their own business, intent on their
own careers, when they were abruptly
interrupted. They each had an encounter with
something, Someone, much bigger than themselves,
and were invited to embark upon a Great
Adventure. The same vision was revealed to each
of them. That behind the appearances of the
humdrum of everyday life, there was a battle
going on, a dramatic with very high stakes.
People were in bondage but D-day had come. The
forces of salvation were on the move. And each
of them, Peter, Paul, Isaiah, and Frodo, were
called to enlist.
None of them would have been voted most likely
to succeed. Isaiah thought he’d die. Peter
felt so unworthy that he begged Christ to
leave. Paul lamented the blood that was on his
hands. Frodo staggered under the burden of his
appointed task.
But they all said yes. And though they met
hardship, withering resistance, and had to face
the bitter disappointment of their own sin, they
kept going. They left behind the familiarity of
the lake, the synagogue, the shire, and embarked
upon a Great Adventure. That Adventure brought
them through suffering to everlasting glory and
made them men that they never imagined they
could be. Isaiah’s words have been sung by
innumerable choirs of men and angels over two
thousand years of Masses. Peter’s successor now
reigns amidst the ruins of the empire that
tormented the martyrs. And Frodo, the
pint-sized Hobbit, completes his mission,
despite his weakness, and brings down the power
of the Dark Lord.
They all illustrate the words of Jesus that the
last shall be first, that the least shall be
greatest, that God chooses ordinary people to do
extraordinary things.
Our hearts are warmed by the Gospel story. We
applaud at the conclusion of the Lord of the
Rings.
And then we go back to business as usual, never
suspecting that we may be called, just as they
were called. That the battle rages around us,
as it did around them.
We are just like them. Imperfect. Unworthy.
Busy with other things. The reality is that
each one of us is called to the heights of
sanctity, to become something beautiful and
mighty for God. God has destined each one of us
to change the course of history, to leave an
everlasting mark on the destinies of countless
people. There are different roles to be played,
of course. Mary’s role was different from
Isaiah’s, Magdalen’s, Paul’s, and Peter’s.
Frodo, Aragorn, Pippin, Sam – all had different
though equally essential roles.
But most of us will prefer reading about others
exploits rather than answering the call, staying
in the Shire where it is comfortable, safe,
predictable. The word “pagan” means
non-combatant. “Christian,” on the other hand,
means anointed for combat. There really is no
room for the spiritual coach potato in the
Kingdom of God. Being a Christian is not about
getting to heaven by the skin of your teeth
after a life of cautious mediocrity. It’s about
an adventure that leads to glory, but only
through perilous battles. You can choose to be
safe if you want. But the thoughts of who you
could have become and whose lives you might have
saved will always be there to haunt you.
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
