Photo was taken just off the Norway coastline

A white tailed sea eagle flies into a colourful skyline

Thought on Sunday – May – 08/08/2010

The following reflection is by Tom Cahill

Scientists can be on the ball just as much as footballers. Take Danish physicist Niels Bohr (d. 1962) for example. He watched westerns. As he did, he noted that something strange happened in them: the gunslinger who went for his gun first, often was the one who was shot first, even though he had the advantage. Bohr was fast enough to draw the correct conclusion from what he saw: reacting is faster than acting. It has now been confirmed that we move faster when we react to something that someone else is doing than when we start to do something ourselves, about 21 milliseconds faster.


How fast are we on the draw when responding to God’s word? In today’s Gospel reading (Luke 12:32-48) God says he gives us the kingdom. How do we react to that? Do we change because of it? God doesn’t hesitate to give. We mustn’t hesitate to respond.
We can’t claim that we don’t know what to do because it’s spelled out for us: we’ve to sell our possessions, give alms, make purses that don’t wear out because the treasure they contain is in heaven; we’ve to be dressed for action, have our lamps lit and be ready for the Master’s return. In short, we react to the gift of God’s kingdom by living like people who belong to it. So we live with thanks for the precious gift of life. We share that gift graciously with others. We react to life with love, generosity, faith and courage.
That’s really being on the ball!