25th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year)
Wis. 2:12,17-20; Ps. 53:3-6, 8; Jas. 3:16-4:3; Mk. 9:30-37
Nowadays we remember incidents by the dates and months. Many years ago the World Trade Centre, New York was attacked. This devastating incident that rocked the whole world is known as 9/11. Along with the Americans, the whole world prayed for peace. The newspapers gave us a different picture of the same date. They compared two different leaders who made two different choices on the same day. Five years ago a terrorist organization made the choice to destroy the World Trade Centre to disrupt the whole human civilization. Whereas many years ago, one simple yet charismatic leader whom we call Mahatma Gandhi, the father of our nation, announced the non-cooperation movement to fight against the unjust British Govt. Two different leaders made two different choices.
You might have read the most famous novel titled “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” by Richard Bach. The author narrates a story of a seagull, who fights the traditional way of living and finds his own way. The whole society makes fun of him because he dreams to be the fastest seagull instead of living on fish. As a result, society casts him out of their clan. After a long battle, Jonathan Livingstone proves to be victorious in his choice. Then the others realize that he had made the right choice in his life. We too see ourselves at the crossroads where we have to choose between two ways. The way most people seem to follow and the way which few seem to walk. What about us? Do we make the right choice at the crossroads? Which road do we follow: a broad way or a narrow way?
Today’s liturgy enlightens our minds to be wise and to make the right choice at the crossroads. It reveals the hidden truth which the world doesn’t understand. The truth is: happiness along the wide road which is often travelled by many people soon leads to utter misery while a road travelled along the trials and hardship leads to eternal happiness.
In the first reading, the author challenges his readers to choose between the ways of pagans and the ways of God. Now the book of Wisdom was written for the Jews who lived throughout the Roman and Greek dominated territories. They were called scattered Jews or Jews of the Diaspora. They faced many difficulties and problems. They had to make the right choices amidst the attractive and glamorous Hellenistic and Roman world. Here at the crossroads, they had to make the right choice of their ways of life; the ways a pagan believed in this earthly life. The pagans did not believe in life after death; so they believed in enjoyment. For them, life was all money, power and pleasure. On the other hand, the ways of God called them to prepare themselves for the next life that is life after death. They had to follow the commandments, even though they had to suffer and die to follow them. The reward for it was eternal life.
In the Gospel, Jesus who is the symbol of Wisdom on the way to Jerusalem: a place where he was to die; we can call it a crossroad, makes the right choice to follow the difficult way. He chooses to become a suffering king instead of a glorified messiah. If at all we have come together to participate in the Eucharist or we are confident about our salvation in Jesus Christ, it is just because Jesus made the right choice at the crossroads of his life: the choice to suffer and die on the cross mercilessly. Are we not called to make the right choices in our lives?
I met a friend after two years of her marriage and as we were talking to each other, she shared with me one of the crucial moments of her life. She is a qualified nurse and was very ambitious. She wanted to go abroad and make big bucks. She worked in Lilavati hospital in Mumbai for many years. At last, her parents forced her to marry. But soon after her marriage, she got a chance to go to the UK. There she was selected as a bright employee and was asked to pursue higher education. It was this time she realized that she was pregnant. The hospital authority had given her a choice. She was at the crossroads of her life. There were two ways, either to abort the child and pursue her career or to leave the job and return to India. It was very painful for her to miss this golden opportunity. But she chose the difficult way. She gave up her job and returned to India. Today she is very happy with her decision. She chose to give birth to a baby thus she participated in God’s divine act. Jesus made the right choice to die on the cross. We are saved because of his choice. Jonathan Livingstone and that friend of mine made the right choice at the crossroads of their lives. They became successful. Are we not called to do the same as Jesus, Jonathan Livingstone seagull and a lady did in their lives?
