Theme: Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you. But the choice should be based on righteousness.
Scripture: Sirach 15:15-20; Ps. 119; Mt. 5:17-37
A story is told about a king who had three sons. The king had reached in his old age and he wanted to hand over his kingdom to one of his sons. But he was not able to make a right choice, therefore, he called all the three sons and gave them 100 gold coins. He asked them to return with a golden dog. The eldest son went in a far off country. He bought a house, employed men to work for him. He told them to find a golden dog, but the men returned empty handed. The eldest son lost all his wealth in discovering golden dog. The second son went and invested in stock and multiplied his wealth. He then asked a gold smith to make a golden dog. The third son went and bought a small house and invested his wealth in making small scale industries. He created employment; he also made hospitals, schools, home for aged, etc. And gave away his profits to the poor and needy. People called him a man with a golden heart. He made a dog out of cotton for his father. At the appointed time, all the three brothers gathered in the presence of their father. The eldest son did not have anything because he had lost everything. The second son brought a dog made out gold. The youngest son brought a dog made of cotton. He said that the cotton was made by him and his companions out of hard work in the sun. It is nothing less than gold. The king was pleased with the answer of his youngest son. The youngest son made the right choices while spending the100 gold coins. The king chose the youngest son as his successor. This story helps us understand how we need to make right choices in our life, whenever we are pushed into a situation that demands a choice. Every choice that we make defines our future. John Maxwell says, “Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make makes you.”
Today’s liturgy of the word guides us to make right choices in our lives. The author of the book of Sirach was addressing a generation that lived in a Hellenistic world. The Jews in the diaspora did not know much about their ancestral history. The author reminded them about the words of Moses. Moses had given the people a choice between good and evil; life and death. (Deut. 30:15, 19) He told them if they obeyed God then they would be assured of eternal life but if they preferred to evil, then death will be the consequences of their choice. Moses used the symbolism of fire and water; we know that fire takes away life and water gives new life. The author tells us that since it is our human tendency to commit sin, we therefore need the grace of God in our lives by following His commandments, otherwise we will be eternally damned. The choice is ours.
Mathew, the evangelist wrote his record of the Gospel addressing the Jewish converts. They had made the choice of Jesus over Moses. Mathew had an uphill task to present that Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament. He had to prove to them that they had made the right choice of choosing Jesus. This is a most extensive explanation on the relationship between Jesus and the Old Testament. Jesus told them that he had come to fulfill Moses’ law but not to break the law. (One of the allegations was to crucify Jesus was the breaking of laws). Jesus proposed new standards of humanity to his disciples. Jesus demanded deeper application of the law that supersedes the righteousness of Scribes and Pharisees. He gave four examples; anger, adultery, divorce and oaths based on the fifth, sixth and eighth commandments. Jesus taught them to look at the root cause rather than just the effects. Jesus challenged his disciples to go beyond the letter of the law and become part of the kingdom of God. The choice was theirs.
St. Paul in the second reading reminds us about the choice that people made when they crucified Jesus. He reminds that God in his wisdom had revealed his glory before ages. Jesus was the person who was the promised messiah. The elders and the king of the age did not accept him. They made a choice to crucify him, instead of recognizing him as the messiah. The choice was theirs.
The anecdote and the readings of the day point to the fact of choices that people made in their lives shaped their future. The king’s sons made different choices to get that golden dog, but it was only the choice made by the youngest son, which resulted in him becoming the heir to his father’s throne. Similarly, the book of Sirach tells us that those who follow God’s commandments are saved. Matthew invites us to make the choice of making Jesus the Lord and Master of our life. Jesus invites us to go deeper into the commandments, follow them to receive the reward of eternal life. Whereas, St. Paul gives us an example of the rulers who chose to crucify Jesus, thus rejecting the glory of God in their lives.
Life is a matter of choices, and every choice you make, shapes your future. But the choice should be based on righteousness. We are here because of the choices that we made this morning. Some people chose to sleep today being a holiday. Some people chose to go for an outing to find relaxation. Some people chose to stay at home to complete pending work. And some people chose to come for mass to receive Christ without whom we can’t even take a step in our lives. The choice which is based on righteousness will have some effects on our lives.
The choice of making Jesus the Lord of our lives, following his teaching in our day to day life, participating in the Eucharist and the church activities in a meaningful way will help us to enter into the kingdom of God. The choice is ours.
Fr. Alex D’Mello
