(The Nationalist, 07 October 2005)
Irish people have an expression which is no compliment to anyone. It’s when we say about a person, ‘He runs with the hare and hunts with the hounds’. In other words, he’s two-faced, he wants to have the best of all worlds, he has no commitment to anyone other than himself. His outlook is not just self-serving. It’s also short-sighted. He sees only the immediate situation and is blind to the long term, even to his own long-term good. In an argument or disagreement, he judges who is most likely to win, aligns himself with that person, right or wrong, while always ready, at a moment’s notice, to switch to the other side if it turns out that he has backed a loser. In Africa, such people are also despised, and there are unflattering expressions about them: ‘A razor-blade that cuts both ways’; and ‘Someone who paddles two canoes’.
Jesus looked for commitment in people. He doesn’t want us to sit on the fence, watching to see what way the wind blows before deciding. His own commitment to God was total and unambiguous.
He expressed his wish for commitment in a parable about people invited to a wedding. The invitees react in different ways. The first group say, in effect, ‘I have better things to do; I’m not interested; I’m busy; maybe later’. They don’t look beyond their personal concerns. They turn away from the larger picture. They don’t have the imagination to see what they were rejecting.
The second group react aggressively, rejecting the invitation, even to the extent of killing those who brought it.
The third group say, ‘Yes, I’m coming’ – but they don’t come. They give a commitment but don’t fulfil it. They want the benefits but aren’t prepared to put in the effort. One of them accepts the wedding invitation but then doesn’t bother to dress for the occasion. It’s as if he says, ‘You invited me, and here I am. Isn’t that good enough for you?’ It’s like saying, ‘I’ve come, but on my own terms’.
Elsewhere, Jesus said, ‘Let your yes be yes, and your no be no’. In other words, say what you mean and mean what you say. Get off the fence, and commit yourself.
For those in a hurry: The events of life are ‘that new gospel to which we ourselves add a page each day’. (Michel Quoist)