September 9, 2001

A Native American found the egg of an eagle. Finding no nest to which he could return the egg to, he carried it to a village farm that bred prairie chickens. The egg was placed in one of the nests, where it hatched and grew among the other prairie chickens. Thinking he was one of them, the eagle imitated the low-flying fowl around him. One day he saw a magnificent bird flying high above him, hanging majestically on the powerful wind currents. "What a beautiful bird!" said the eagle to his brother prairie chicken. "But don't you give it a second thought. You could never be like him. You're just a prairie chicken." So the eagle lived and died thinking he was just a prairie chicken.

Too bad he didn't give it a second thought.

Today's Gospel parable centers on second thoughts. Jesus refers to a builder and asking who acts without thinking. The builder fails to consider the possibility that he hasn't the resources necessary to complete the project while the King fails to consider the possibility that the Army he is facing is much larger than his own. Had either given a second thought to what they were doing, they might have been spared a disaster. Had the eagle done so, he might not have lived like a prairie chicken.

SO THE QUESTION: NAME SOMETHING YOU WISH YOU HAD GIVEN A SECOND THOUGHT TO.

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