Discernment: Letting Go, Letting God

Discernment:  In today’s first reading, Acts 15: 7-21, Peter participates in the debate about whether to demand that the Gentiles be circumcised before being baptized in Christ Jesus. Eventually, Peter gets up and says to the Apostles and the presbyters: “My brothers, you are well aware that from early days God made his choice among you that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the Gospel and believe.”  Peter knows his place, his calling.  Do you know yours?

Knowing does not mean that you will not find yourself in difficult situations such as a heated debate with fellow “apostles,” or presbyters (members of the clergy), or family or community members or friends.  You may need to take a stand. So, too, might the “apostle” or “presbyter,” the member of your family or religious community,  or, even, friends.  You may leave each other on opposite sides of the debate and need to move on . The door that you wanted open may not open for you or for the presbyter or others with whom you are discussing an issue.  It is then time to move in a different direction that God will reveal to you and to the other “apostles” or the “presbyter or others involved in the argument.  Letting go, letting God, trusting that God has another plan full of hope for you, not just the one you were determined to make a reality for yourself,  is part of  what discernment is about!