Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men, 
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes.”

A writer in the NYT  wrote a column awhile ago describing  her efforts towards daily mindfulness.  She ends the day asking if she said the right thing or did anything to advance her life; how did she manage this situation, how could she have done it better? It’s not an examination of conscience she engages in but a search for a more successful self. It’s all up to you.

Jesus describes life so differently in today’s gospel. You’re like sheep sent out among wolves, he says, and you’re not safe even in your own home. You’re ok, though. You’re not on a journey alone. “ Don’t worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” 

How different that is from trying to do it all yourself.

That’s not telling us to forget what we say or do or think. We shouldn’t live unexamined lives. Mindfulness is all right, as far as it goes. We’re also told to be as shrewd as serpents and as simple as doves. Yet, at the same time we’re sheep among wolves, we’re branches on the vine. We’re promised a wisdom and a voice stronger than our own.

We don’t have to do it all by ourselves. At the end of the day we’re not alone.