Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.

Homily for Wednesday 7th November 2018

_“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” *Luke 14:28*_

The summary of our Gospel passage today is what is popularly known as the 5ps: Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Without adequate preparation, we are hardly guaranteed success in any venture. He who fails to plan, they say, plans to fail. If you rush into a something (let’s say, a business) without adequate and careful preparation or studies, you would soon find yourself rushing out as fast as your legs can carry.

You do not become a soldier without training, and not just any kind of training, one that is tough, rigorous and painful. This applies not only to the military but to every other professional career. Put simply, preparation comes at a price; preparation is taking in the most painful aspects ahead of time so as to acquire the necessary wisdom and skills required for the job. Preparation is very expensive, it consumes time, money and requires discipline none of which is ever wasted. As someone was said: “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance!”

As much as we know the value of preparation and apply it to virtually all aspects of our daily lives, it is sad that when it comes to the Christian Faith, there seems to be little or almost no preparation at all. Most of us were born into Christian homes and we came to know God not by choice but by association with family members. We never actually took time to calculate the cost of discipleship, neither did we ever consider whether or not we really wanted to be Christians.

Some parents can afford to invest heavily in their children’s education, send them to the best schools and even pay for extra home lesson teachers for their kids. Yet, when it comes to attending catechism classes, they find a way to “block” the priest or catechist. “Father, please just allow my child join for Holy Communion, you know her school wouldn’t give her time to be attending all these classes. Blah blah blah.” I have never seen a parent who paid a Catechism teacher to come and teach faith and morals to their kids at home.

Parents do not seem to understand the importance of spiritual preparation, they feel “going to church” is enough or that everything would simply fall into place. When things begin to fall apart in their kids’ lives spiritually, they just blame it on the devil. Like the multitudes who were trooping around Jesus (who later on turned against Jesus shouting, “Crucify Him”), most of us are just nominal Christians; we are here as long as it favours us and are prepared to bounce as soon as the going gets tough. We either do not believe or do not want to know that being a Christian comes at a price! We are like trained soldiers who upon hearing of an impending war rush quickly to tender their resignation letters. That is why we move from Church to church, we keep looking for the one that is easy and convenient where we are told what we like to hear or what will make us happy.

What does being a Christian cost? What is the nature of the price we must pay? Jesus says it includes: hating one’s own family (that is to say, making God a priority over one’s own family), carrying the cross to follow Jesus (walking the narrow path, doing what is right even when it hurts), renouncing our material possessions (refraining from the worship of money). These requirements are NOT EASY. Being a Christian is not easy so also being a soldier, or a banker, or a doctor or a lawyer and so on. It is not meant to be easy.

Jesus is saying, if you know you cannot pay the price, then don’t bother to engage at all. If a king sees that he cannot defeat the army approaching him by the strength of his armed forces, there is no need to begin a battle that will bring him to shame, it is wiser to go instead to negotiate for peace. Don’t start what you cannot or will not finish. “No one who puts his hand on the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Better to be a non-Christian than to be a Christian who is fake; a Christian who takes in the sweet and easy aspects but turns away when the tougher aspect is required.

A trained soldier knows that fighting a war is not easy but he never complains about it. A surgeon knows that spending ten hours in the operating theatre is exhausting yet he never complains about it; he looks forward to the next. A Christian who complains about the cross he or she must carry is not mature in the faith. No wonder St. Paul says in today’s first reading: “Do all things without grumbling or questioning that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you shine as lights in the world.” Phil.2:14-15

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to grow deeper in my faith. Amen.

Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Wednesday of the 31^st Week in Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Philippians 2:12-18, Psalm 27:1-14 and Luke 14:25-33).