I often say to peopleI am not “a gardener”
I am a person who “would like to be a gardener”
It’s not that I don’t like gardening
or that I think gardening is a waste of time
It is, I suspect, that I lack the commitment
and also that I have never been able to give it priority.
Ignatius Loyola was born at the end of the 15th century
and after a career as a successful soldier
he gave it up for the usual reasons
he had just been blown up by a cannon!
Reassessing his life
he decided to commit himself completely
to gathering a small band of followers
to pursuing the teachings of Jesus.
It is this single-minded commitment which has characterized his ways of doing things
And you would have to say that he has been spectacularly successful
Whether it is learning how to pray
or serving the poor
or seeking excellence as a scientist
a doctor, a teacher
even as a winemaker (in our own state)
His teaching has emphasized single-minded pursuit of the top priority of life
For Christians we call that God
But I wonder if those of us who do not name it as God can also understand what he is saying.
One of the most important things he says is
There are very few people who realise what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves into his hands, and let themselves be formed by his grace.It is this we witness Joshua talking about
when we hear him challenge
his fellow Israelites
“As for me and my family we will follow God”
The people glibly chant back that they will do likewise.
“Don’t say it, “ Joshua says, “if you don’t mean it! It will require full commitment!”
We are reminded
no matter where we might like to commit ourselves, whether it be the garden
to work, to family, to research
or to God.
There is a cost
and unless we are really committed
we should wonder if it’s worth the effort
Peter managed a moment of abandonment
as he got out of the boat to walk to Jesus on the water.
Whether we are religious or not,
I suspect this story speaks to all of us
there are times
when we have walked on water.
The point of the story
is about the sort of defeat
that so often grips us.
Ignatius drilled this into his brothers.
If you abandon yourselves
Let go of your insatiable need to control everything
to your ultimate goal,
to your deepest desire
to what we Christians call
God
Then few of us realise
what we could be like
and do
Without second-guessing.
This week
· What is it you earnestly desire?
· What is to stop you (other than yourself) from abandoning yourself to it?
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