It ain’t rational!

In today’s gospel, it seems that Jesus is establishing his authority to teach, through the exercise of power entailed in banishing the unclean spirit. But we need no evil spirit to send us careering off the rails

Although we each come from God, made in His own image, which means we are like Him. However, his plan is to give us all a long rein, with free will to choose the wrong things to do, even if they take us further away from Him. We each have to find ‘where on earth is heaven.’

You’d think anyone a fool to misuse such a gift – surely we all want to become better and better, and therefore nearer to Him?   You are right! So what stops us listening to His voice? It is surely not rational to ignore it.

Fact is, an awful lot of our behaviour ain’t rational, however intelligent and well-meaning we are. We live life full of challenges and opportunities coming at us thick and fast. If we began life in the calm centre, we are forever whirled around in a maelstrom, flying further outwards so that we take our eye off the ball and think short-term only, just survive.

We forget our prayer and conversation with Him, take more care of ourselves than of others, lapse in our duties and even take the worse fork in the road when we can see the good one. Like the married in the Second Reading, we bother too much about the world’s affairs.

Luckily, God knows all this and is always pulling us lovingly to His still silence and wisdom where we can restore the real purpose of our lives. Ask Our Lord to “Save us, and gather us together” again.

Jerome Rhodes
Holy Cross Wotton