Choose Life

Homily for February 15, 2018.

“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19. 

I guess you may have heard the saying that: God who made you without your cooperation will not save you without your cooperation. Dear friends, life is a matter of choice. Every choice and every decision we take has a price as well as a prize. There is something to gain and something to lose.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells us the God has set before us life/good and death/evil, blessings and curses. If you choose to serve God and obey his commandments, “You shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land….”

But if you ignore God and go against his commands; “You shall perish, you shall not live long in the land….” In other words, there is a good choice and a bad choice. We are free to choose but we are not free to avoid the consequences of our choices.

I have come to realize that the best choices are usually those that appear more painful at the onset. Choices which demand a lot of sacrifice and pain from us initially end up becoming our saving grace in the end.

This is exactly what Jesus wants to bear in mind when he says: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me for whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it.”

Jesus is literally asking us to choose life, not earthly life but eternal life, the greater life that never ends and this great life demands death to worldliness, death to the worship of money and material things.

Self-denial is saying “No” to your flesh. Another word for self-denial is self-discipline. It is taking control of your inner man. It is refusing to allow your flesh and its desires drive you into sin like a donkey running hard to get a carrot it sees not knowing the carrot is attached to its nose.

No one ever became great without self discipline. Choose life today by taking up your cross.

Let us Pray: Lord Jesus, teach me to follow the narrow way, to obey your commands, to discipline my flesh that I may gain life in the end. Amen.

*Be happy, live positive, it is well with you. Thursday After Ash Wednesday. Bible Study: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and Luke 9:22-25.*

Fr. Abu.