Monday 7 November

Wisdom 1: 1-7, Ps. 139, Luke 17: 1-6

Am I an obstacle?

The Greek word here translated ‘obstacle’, when transliterated into English, gives the word ‘scandal’. The word originally referred to the bait in a trap, which attracted the animal and resulted in its capture. It came to mean anything that placed a stumbling-block in somebody’s way. Jesus tells his followers that such stumbling-blocks are inevitable in life. But it is a profoundly serious matter to do something that causes others – particularly the most vulnerable - to stray into the wrong path. Do I provide obstacles to those young in years or young in faith? Do I scandalise anyone?