The Liturgical calendar today has the option of commemorating St. And when we find ourselves in the place just right, вЂtwill be in the valley of love and delight. The Shaker Hymn holds the truth: вЂTis the gift to be simple, вЂtis the gift to be free, вЂtis the gift to come down to where we ought to be. What we often call suffering in our lives is being stripped of our false selves, illusions and attempts at being someone else. Our authentic self is GodвЂ™s image and likeness stamped on our being.ДЄ rabbi was asked what question he most feared when he stood before God at the judgment: He answered: вЂњWhy didnвЂ™t you become you?вЂќ We are all one of a kind, given the one task of becoming ourselves so the Beloved Community will be complete. To know yourself and to pick up and carry the blessing and burden of who you really are is how we bring forth the Christ in us. Once we understand that our cross is our own unique potential, there can be no turning back, for to fail to follow through is to lose our very self. Commitment must be as deep as our heartвЂ™s resources and determination. Someone building a tower who runs out of money, or a ruler going to war without enough soldiers to match a superior force would both be put to shame. Two short parables drove home JesusвЂ™ point about being prepared to go the distance. Even his own Apostles were not prepared to follow through on their promises to remain with him to the end. The starkness of his words revealed the urgency Jesus felt about the proclaiming the reign of God over all else, and many must have turned away when they heard his words. вЂњLet the dead bury their dead,вЂќ was a shocking thing to say about one of the most solemn duties of piety in any culture.

In another passage, he tells a would-be follower there was no time to say goodbye or even to bury your own father. They must prefer him to their own parents and families, their hopes of settling down with a wife and children, and even their own lives. In todayвЂ™s Gospel, Jesus turns to the enthusiastic crowds following him to Jerusalem and makes clear just what discipleship entails.

вЂњOwe nothing to anyone, except to love one anotherвЂќ (Rom 13:1).

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