Keep your eyes on the prize

Today's scripture passages (especially the gospel) present us with one of those intriguing moments when Jesus was confronted with people who challenged the authority of his teaching. In today's climate, perhaps there are a few if not many who would prefer to be able to do this at least from time to time.

Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to be happening at the same time? Today is turning out to be one of those days. There are at least four or five visitors who have arrived, or who are coming today, each of which is finishing a project that has been planned for a period of either weeks or months. In addition, Friday mornings tend to be filled with an array of visitors and all manner of other happenings.

In the midst of all this activity, the words of scripture invite us to be attentive to a different kind of movement: the ways in which Jesus invites each of us to be stretched and pulled so that we can discover or hear afresh His invitation to love, to forgive and to grow. That's what Lent is all about. The problem is that there is often too much 'noise' in our world, either because of an overabundance of activity or because of all the distractions that tend to characterise our daily existence.

The trick is to develop a habit of listening intently to the inner voice of the soul. This is the place where interesting conversations take place. This is the place where we can 'check in' every now and then to see how we're doing. This is the place that will tell us when things are not right, and this is the place that will tell us when everythings just fine.