Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

An Army sergeant was trying to motivate his soldiers to think clearly, plan purposefully and execute their orders with competence. As a visual aid, he hung up a sign in the meeting room that said: PLAN AHE. Of course it was supposed to read PLAN AHEAD; for years that sign hung on the wall, serving as an example of one who hadn't. Planning ahead is part of any large project. Whether it is the building of a home for a family, or the reconstruction of a major highway, the planning may actually take longer than the work itself. Students will talk about their "plans" for what they will do after college or even their "plans" for the weekend. The Christian life has a plan as well, and in the Gospel this weekend Jesus asks us to consider the true cost of being one of his disciples. To be a disciple and to build our faith in Jesus, we too need to calculate the cost and begin with full determination to follow through. Have we invested enough of ourselves in what it means to follow him?