Sunday September 7th: Enthusiasm is not enough

‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’

Luke 14: 25 – 33

We are often like the great crowds that are following Jesus with great enthusiasm. I think of the amazing energy at Charismatic meetings, or masses with choirs that can have everyone in the congregation swaying and clapping, and our priests and deacons who give such inspiring spirit-filled homilies that you leave feeling you can go out and change the world and lead an army into the kingdom.

However, enthusiasm is not enough. We need to discern, ‘to sit down and calculate the cost’. Discernment requires first of all awareness of what we are embarking on, and, secondly, an understanding of the cost, that is, the cross we must now carry having made that decision, and finally, what action is required. We should not just simply march into battle.

This Gospel tells me that following Jesus’ way is not an easy road, it requires a lifestyle that requires both contemplation and action. When Jesus stopped and turned around to address his enthusiastic crowd perhaps he was really asking them to discern if they are really prepared to continue this journey. Are we?