Choose Life or Death
Brethren, today's readings present to us the fundamental choices we have to make as Christians: to choose Life or Death as we see in the first reading, and to choose the world or choose to save our souls, as presented in the Gospel. With the former, choosing life means following God's commandments and choosing death means disobedience to God who is the source of life. With the latter, choosing the world and its pleasures means you let God outside your life for God is opposed to the world and you are going to lose your soul but choosing to save your soul means to carry your cross daily and follow Jesus. Reflect today on what you want to choose today and move with it through this Lenten period.
The days after Ash Wednesday are days of preparation, gearing the faithful up for Lent. The same choice, of choosing Life or Death, lies before all the faithful in Lent as before Israel in the desert, whether or not to take the season seriously enough to make the special effort to live in especially devoted loyalty to God's commands. The forty years in the desert were looked back on in two ways: either they were a period of honeymoon in the desert, when Israel was alone with the LORD in the desert and the two were bonding together in love, like a honeymooning couple, expressing and intensifying their love for one another. Or they were looked at as a time when the murmuring and infidelities began, when Israel lusted to be back among ‘the leeks and garlic and onions’ of Egypt, shying away from the challenges of life in the harsh and difficult desert. Are you going to make use of these forty days of Lent, to come closer to God or to look at the period as meaningless?
The church today presents us two important elements from the gospel. The element vital to Lent which the Church sets before us today is the first prophecy of the Passion. The disciples have been drastically slow to learn who Jesus is, and at last Peter pipes up ‘You are the Christ (the Anointed One, the expected Messiah)’. But even so, he has not appreciated what this means, for Jesus is not the expected warrior-king who will sweep the Romans into the sea. His way of fulfilling the prophecies is as a suffering Messiah. So, in all the Gospels, he immediately follows his recognition as Messiah by the first prophecy of the Passion. Each of the three great prophecies of the Passion is misunderstood by the disciples, who – like ourselves – shy away from the message that the disciple of Christ must share in his suffering. If we are to prepare to share with Christ at Easter in the Resurrection, we must do this by sharing in his suffering.
The second element is choosing between the world and our souls. Very often in life we have the wrong priorities. We seek instant satisfaction and gratification over eternal fulfillment. It’s hard for many people to live with an eternal perspective.
Some may say, “Well, I choose both! I want the whole world and the salvation of my soul!” But Jesus’ question presupposes that we cannot have both. We must pick which one we choose to pursue. Choosing a life of faith and the salvation of our souls requires that we let go of many things in this world. Even if God were to bless us with much in this world, we must strive to live in such a way that we are ready and willing to “give it up” if it were beneficial to our eternal salvation, or the salvation of others. This is hard to do and requires a very deep love of God. It requires that we are convinced, on the deepest level, that the pursuit of holiness is more important than anything else.
Reflect, today, upon this profound question from Jesus. Know that He poses it to you. How do you respond? Do not hesitate to make God and His abundant mercy the central focus of your life. Lent is one of the best times of the year to seriously look at the most fundamental desire and goal of your heart. Choose Him above all else and you will be eternally grateful you did.
Let us pray
Lord, as we enter into this Lenten season, give me the grace I need to look at my priorities. Help me to honestly discern that which is the most fundamental and central driving motivation of my life. Help me to choose You above all else so that You will help everything in my life to become ordered in accord with Your holy will. Amen
Be Blessed
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