It's a real battle

There is a legend that the Queen of Sheba once sent two bouquets of roses to Solomon. One was genuine and the other was artificial. According to the legend, she challenged Solomon to detect which was artificial and which was genuine, without touching it.

Solomon opened the window and let in a swarm of bees, which at once settled on the real roses.
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In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus tells of the requirements for real discipleship. I was at first puzzled by the comparison with a king at war:

"What king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?".

But then I realized that Christ's followers are into a deadly spiritual battle with evil. Jesus tells us to be ready and give up inordinate desires, or else we can not follow Him. Oftentimes, these inordinate desires consume us to the point that we are not even aware that we are already unfit for battle. So there is a need for introspection. I remembered a management book I was reading about Sun Tzu on the Art of War sometime ago.

"He who has a thorough knowledge of himself and the enemy is bound to win all battles. He who knows himself but not the enemy has only an even chance of winning. He who knows not himself and the enemy is bound to perish in battles".

King Solomon and Sun Tzu understands the principles of coming to terms with reality, but it is only Jesus who can see through our inner selves and guide us through.

This morning we conducted the 5th session of our CFC Christian Life Program at 9am to 11am after the 7:15am mass. It was a lazy Sunday morning, there was a drizzle, and it was very tempting to sleep late. I guess the participants and the CLP service team won one battle, but there will be lots more. I did get a restful nap in the afternoon. God is good.

xposted for CatholicFriends

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