Fr. Paul Campbell’s article for Twenty-third Sunday

Wis 9: 13-18b                        Phmn 9-10, 12-17                        Lk 14: 25-33

Did you have a good summer vacation?  Do you even remember it?  Did you at least take pictures?  Do you think you will ever look at them?  The theme of this Sunday’s readings is reflection before action.  How much time do we spend reflecting before our actions or even doing them? Jesus cites the example of a builder who did not sufficiently reflect upon his building project and was not able to complete it.  Essentially he had no plan and therefore the project was going to fail before he began.  A wise man I once knew used to smile at me when I was in the midst of some self generated crisis and say “Plan your work and work your plan”.  Planning takes reflection and reflection is essential in the spiritual life.  The first reading from the book of Wisdom describes the life with our reflection.  It says, and scarce do we guess the things on earth and what is within our grasp we find with difficulty”.  What does it take to plan your work and work your plan?  First it takes reflection.  Reflection gives us the answer to what is important in life and reminds us that “the corruptible burdens the soul”.  For most of us the “corruptible” are those things that get in the way of enjoying vacations or visits with family and friends.  Did the summer go quickly?  Does your life move at a speed that makes you uncomfortable?  Once we reflect on our lives we will change our phrase to “Plan God’s work and work God’s plan”.  Sufficient reflection upon our lives will remind us that if we want to make God laugh tell God our plans.  Jesus reminds his disciples in a rather alarming way that the primary relationship in their lives must be with him. Without getting into a Greek and Latin translation discussion Luke has Jesus saying, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”.  He is trying to get his disciples to understand that human beings come in and out of our lives and regardless of how much we love them. Our relationship with God is always present.  Once we begin to act according to God’s plan we transition to what the Book of Wisdom describes when it says “Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your Holy Spirit from on high?  And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight”.  Once we desire to work God’s plan and begin to see the Holy Spirit as being a part of our daily lives we allow that fire to purify our actions.  While that sounds very lofty it can be very simple.  A scripture scholar once said the “the fire of the Spirit distinguishes the dross from the genuine”.  The man is a scholar because he uses words like dross.  Webster defines dross as waste, trivial or inferior.  If we try and follow God’s plan for us the Spirit will burn away those parts of our lives that are “burdening our soul”.  We must respond.  To work God’s plan we must turn off the electronics once in a while.  Did you check your messages or email while on vacation?  Jesus also tells his disciples “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple”.  While we need to have stuff, we also need to allow the fire of the Spirit to help us set priorities.  Do you own your possessions or do they own you?  How much time each day do you spend on building your “earthen shelter”?  The key to remembering your vacation as well as enjoying life is to reflect on God’s plan and then participate in it.