HOMILY FOR THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY. (2)

HOMILY FOR THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY.

THEME: CHOOSE LIFE.

BY: Fr. Karabari Paul

“See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil.”

Oftentimes, the duality of purpose is used to show that we account for our choices in life. It is very common to see this in the Bible; life and death, good and evil, light and darkness, good fruit and bad fruit, blessing and curse. While one is used to describe what is godly, the other shows our misleading path towards the devil.

God respects the free will of man to choose his way of life. And Moses acting on the same basis, declared before the people of Israel in the First Reading (Deut. 30:15-20), “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and clinging to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” It is noteworthy that the middle option is never included. It means that it is either a man decides to be for God or he declares for the devil.

Serving God demands a deliberate act of choosing Him over everything else including health, prestige, wealth, power and authority. And such a choice cannot be passive. It is sometimes exactly the opposite of what people see as saving their lives. It is about following the Master Jesus Christ who came to suffer for others. In the Gospel (Luke 9:22-29), He specifically declares known to His disciples that “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” We can hardly associate with such a leader. But this is the only true path to life.

Choosing to do the right thing each time can be challenging. The right things are not always the easy things. We might have to overcome the emotions we feel. We might have to go against what we really want to do. But doing the right thing, the thing that God wants us to do, is vital if we are going to follow Him. Every day, we are faced with lots of opportunities to make the right choice. The choice to do what Jesus would do in that situation. The choice that will bring us closer to His nature. Sometimes we might not really realise we are facing that choice – ever avoided that person in church who is always on their own? Ever ignored an opportunity to pray with or do good to someone who is going through a difficult time because you don’t want to get involved in their troubles? It is so difficult to constantly make the godly choice. Thus, we need to be more closer to Jesus the source of all goodness.

Jesus chooses to obey the will of the Father. He also tells us to be prepared to carry our crosses if we are to be His followers. Our crosses are as different as our ages, sex, and state of life. We must resolve to choose Christ and His path. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God have mercy on us and heal our soul through Christ Our Lord Amen. Good morning.

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