Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 3, 2022 - Thursday after Ash Wed.
[Deut 30:15-20 and Luke 9:22-25]"Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the Lord, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish...." [Deuteronomy] "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?" [Luke]
Choices have consequences. Moses and Jesus set choices in front of us. The prophets of the Old Testament continually reminded the Chosen People that they would prosper only if they remained faithful to not only God's choice of them but their choice for God! History demonstrates just how hard it was for them to be faithful to the choice.
Jesus places a choice in front of us, as well. Recently we heard of the rich man who asked what he must do to gain eternal life and he was told to get rid of his possessions and follow Jesus. He went away sad because he had many possessions. He is not alone. The choice to follow Jesus means a DAILY acceptance of the cross. Those crosses come in many sizes for each of us but our tendency is to see them as obstacles to or tests of our faith rather than part of our living out the gospel.
The season of Lent comes each year to remind us of choices that extend beyond this season and are not simply confined to a 40-day endurance test. We bring our crosses with us into Lent and beyond it. However, Lent, in addition to the important task of preparing for the celebration of Holy Week, gives us a chance to evaluate our crosses and see how they truly enable us to follow Jesus. These crosses can include chronic illness, ongoing difficult relationships, addictions (drugs, food, gambling, pornography, etc.) This is not a matter of accepting the unacceptable as ordinary but rather seeing the cross as part the challenge of following Jesus. Lent offers the chance to renew our efforts to overcome destructive habits and patterns of behavior. Since this effort cannot just begin and stop with Lent, but will be ongoing, Lent becomes a new and renewed period of following Jesus. This is far more valuable than giving up candy or liquor or whatever for 40 days. The choice is ours to make and the consequences are ours to accept. AMEN
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