Ordinary time week 11 2Co 6,1-10; Mt 5 38-42
In writing to the Corinthians, Paul calls for sincerity, genuineness, openness and focus on our purpose to reflect the goodness and love of Christ. In fact, this is what we always want to do. When we were at school, we were encouraged to be the best that we can be!
Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed that just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen, filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without a word to his daughter. Impatient, his daughter wondered what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners.
He put the potatoes into a bowl, the eggs in another and ladled the coffee into a cup.
He then said, “Daughter, what do you see?”
“Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she replied.
“Look closer” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.
He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed a hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.
“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.
He then explained that the potatoes, eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity - the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water became soft and maliable.
The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.
However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.
“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. . .
by Fr Thomas O'BRIEN a.a
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