20th Sunday in Ordinary Time - part 2

Continuation of reflections on Sunday readings (part 1 is here).

So, with the knowledge that living as a disciple of Christ may cause division, we are reminded that we must judge ourselves according to God's commands.  Now, before you get all excited about the word 'judge', keep this in mind - you are not to be judgmental.  Rather, we are commanded to spend time with God so that we may know how to act, and how to judge OUR actions.  Again - it's not about finger-pointing or holier-than-thou stuff.  Ultimately we must judge if our discipleship is faithful to God's will.

How do we do that?  Well, I'm afraid I'm going to quote my mother and say, "Pray about it."  I know, I know.  You're rolling your eyes.  Yes, that's the 'right' thing to say.  We are always told to pray about a situation.  But I encourage you to stop for a moment and think about it.  Be honest.  When you had an important decision to make, did you actually take time to prayerfully consider if it would make you a better disciple of Jesus?  I can only speak for myself, but I'm going to guess that most of us would say no.  No we didn't use that context to judge our actions.  That's where the judgment piece comes in.  We should constantly be judging the choices we make and how they will impact ourselves and others.  If you want, pull out "WWJD".  What would Jesus do?  But remember - it's not "what-do-I-want-which-means-that-it-would-make-me-happy-so-if-Jesus-wants-me-to-be-happy-than-Jesus-would-want-me-to-do-this' justification.  It is a discernment process.  The definition of discernment:  The ability to judge well.  There's that pesky 'judge' word again.  For me, to judge well (discern), means that I am open to God's guidance in my life, in every choice and decision I make.  That doesn't automatically mean that I actually do this every time I have a big decision, but I recognize that I should, and I want to do this.  It takes practice.

Prayer - God, please nudge me when I am faced with a big decision.  Remind me that I want, and need, Your guidance to choose well.  Help me practice this in all choices, so that when I am faced with a difficult situation, I have the courage and the ability to discern Your will.