Life is definitely worth living - living to the fullest - enjoying all that the world has to offer - all that nature offers - all that God offers. In today's Gospel - it appears that Jesus is telling us to abandon all that we have - even ourselves - in order to follow Him - to become His disciple. In typical Jewish tradition - what you hear - what is spoken - has to be clearly understood - to get at the real meaning. Some might call it double speak - saying the opposite of what you mean - answering a question with a question - using misdirection to get others to focus on the real subject at hand. In writing - a literary tool - in speech - like in magic illusions - making people think outside the box - going deeper - looking at what is not clearly seen.
To die to ourselves - to forget about others - is not dying - not forgetting - rather redirecting our attention - first to what is truly important - our relationship with Jesus - with God. Once we have refocused on God - we will see that following Jesus as His Disciple - our attention has to be focused on others - their well being - their comfort - helping them before we help ourselves. Our needs can wait - be put on hold - while we help others to see value in their own lives - to bring them closer to God - to appreciate every day of their life. All too often we only celebrate life after someone has died - the reality - we need to celebrate all lives - everyday - while they - we - are living.
Deacon Dale
