Monday of Week 13 – Amos 2:6-10,13-16; Matthew 8:18-22

One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’

Perhaps he listened attentively to the Sermon on the Mount. He was fascinated by the vision of a kingdom based on eight pillars of blessing. He was carried away by the admiration of the multitude of people following the Master and finally saw himself among those closest to Jesus. He didn’t think about the consequences. Moreover, he did not foresee that the declaration would have to be followed by sacrifices and hardships, that a day would come when joy would be covered by the dust of the road, and the hand stretched out with the miraculously multiplied bread would become the hand of a beggar. You don’t think about all this when your greatest asset is your youth.

A wise counsellor is able to verify ideals . . . before a fatal mistake occurs. Before someone says: that’s what we expected. A wise counsellor checks. Show what you’re capable of, what you can do. Because the kingdom is not for the faint of heart. It is for those who know how to plough (sometimes in fallow land), sow (also among thorns), fight (sometimes more with yourself than others), and love (even when they are not loved). Without regard to human security. For father, mother, or owned property.