7 August 2015
Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I once heard a story about a man aboard a plane who propositioned a woman sitting beside him for one million dollars. She glared at him but pursued the conversation and soon began to entertain the possibility of becoming a millionaire. The pair set the time, terms and conditions. Just before the plane landed, the man admitted that he does not have a million dollars and he asked whether the woman would consider the proposition for one hundred dollars. The woman snapped back, “What do you think I am?” The man replied, “that has already been established, we are just haggling over the price.”
In the Gospel reading, Jesus says to his disciples, “What will it profit you if you gain the whole world but forfeit your life?” We live in a secular society that is less and less tolerant toward religions, especially Christianity. Being a faithful Christian has been seen as a form of deviation from the norm. Consequently, most of us face more subtle temptations to sell out, to compromise on our beliefs and principles. Even some Christians call for the fellow Christians to compromise their faith rather than to lose everything. Perhaps we only face pressure to sell out in a small ways, but the question remains; do you have a price?