This weekend there are a number of protests taking place in Belfast against Abortion being brought into Northern Ireland. If we had a working assembly this would not be happening in this way as I do not believe that it is the will of the people of Northern Ireland. We pray for our Politicians and the people they represent at this difficult time in our history in terms of what is happening in Northern Ireland regarding Abortion and Brexit.
In this Sundays first reading the author of Wisdom reflects that it is hardly surprising that we have trouble figuring out the intentions of God when we have so much trouble figuring each other. He warns: “It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth, laborious to know what lies within our reach.” There are times such as these when those within our reach puzzle us. And even though God has revealed himself through his Holy Spirit, nobody can claim to fully understand the mystery that is God. We still have much to figure out in so many things especially the things that relate to God.
In the Gospel there is plenty of figuring out to be done too. Jesus gives people notice that they have to work out for themselves if they are equal to the demands of discipleship. That means that first they have to figure out the cost of discipleship, then consider whether they have the resources to meet that cost. To drive the point home, Jesus uses twin parables Anyone intending to build a tower would “first sit down and work out the cost”. If he started without finishing, the sum of his achievement would be a monument to his own stupidity. Likewise, the king who discovers that his forces are outnumbered would “first sit down and consider” whether the opposing arithmetic is too heavy. If he wants to be a smart survivor he will practise his speeches on the wonders of peace! In both instances the advice is clear: take the time; sit down; look at the demands; figure out whether you can honestly meet them. Much of our lives involve figuring out what is within our reach and what we ourselves can realistically achieve. Jesus knows that his disciples must prefer following him to following in their fathers’ footsteps.
He calls them away from the primacy of the family because discipleship means a new and all-consuming loyalty. It means following Jesus who makes his way of love with the cross on his back. So the moral for all of us in these days of uncertainty around so many things that matter is that when we come to make life changing decisions we need to stop and do what this gospel tells us and that is to take the time; look at the demands the decision to be made will make on us as individuals and communities; and figure out what is within our reach and what we can realistically achieve that will help us to go forward in faith and in hope rather than backwards in fear. In these days when so much is at stake let us redouble our efforts in Prayer and action to make those who are responsible for the mess that we are in sit up and take notice so they will make good decisions for the common good of everyone based on proper consideration of what is possible rather than some unachievable ideal that will never happen.
Fullerton T 