2nd of 3 Married Couples Retreats
Priest Field Retreat Center, Kearneysville, WV
March 25, 2012
“The Road Less Travelled”: What’s the Difference?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Frost’s Poem
I began my freshman year of high school in September of 1958.
One of the first poets we studied in Freshman English class was our American Robert Frost and I vividly recall one of Frosts’ most memorable poems – The Road Less Travelled. I imagine all of us can recall this.
I would like to read just a few verses of The Road Less Travelled this morning. Robert Frost writes this:
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
and looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other…
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
Two reads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Our Choice of Roads
This simple poem by Robert Frost helps us to realize our choices today.
In today’s gospel, Jesus invites us to follow him in taking the road less travelled. He describes this road in terms that seem contradictory, paradoxical, at times even absurd.
It is a road of glory and honor that involves nitty-gritty service. It is a road where the grain of wheat must die to produce fruit.
It is a road where those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will preserve it. And it is this road less travelled, to which Jesus invites us.
Where Does This Road Take Us?
Concretely, for us, what are some of the things involved in our doing this?
(1) For example, taking Jesus’ road means that we sacrifice for one another.
We see this in parents who do not buy the more expensive car or pricey clothes so as to provide for their children and pay for their college education or grandparents who do without something for the sake of their grandchildren.
We might see this sense of sacrifice in ourselves as we try to live more simply so that others in our world may simply live.
(2) Taking Jesus’ road means that we do what is difficult and not always take the easy way out.
We see this in a senior who takes up for someone who is being gossiped about or invite a stranger who is outside the group to sit at your table or get a ride in your car.
We see this doing what is difficult and not taking the easy way out in ourselves when we remain silent or voice an alternative outlook in the midst of negative ethnic comments or demonizing those who are different.
(3) Taking Jesus’ road means that we view success in terms of giving.
We see this in the lawyer or doctor or therapist who offers pro bono service to someone in need who cannot afford to pay.
With the passing of years, as our time for leisure increases, we see this defining of success in terms of giving back to our community or parish by volunteering or getting the elderly food or to a doctor’s office.
(4) Finally, taking Jesus’ road means that we try to build bridges.
We see this in the spouse who is willing to try marriage counseling even after experiencing years of insensitivity. We see this building of bridges in ourselves when we reach out to that son, daughter, or friend from whom we have been alienated for years.
Conclusion
Now it is probably true that many people do not take Jesus’ road, the road less travelled, because it does seem like a dead end.
We may think that it will not make us happy or fulfilled. The truth of the matter, however, is that taking Jesus’ road – the road less travelled – brings an inner peace and satisfaction.
No other road, way of life, or lifestyle can do this for us. As Robert Frost says, “Taking the road less travelled will make all the difference for us.”
A childhood lesson learned long ago in Freshman English Literature and still very applicable after so many years.
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