In today’s responsorial psalm, Psalm 1, David pronounces
those “blessed” who do not follow evil ways, ways that are immoral and sinful,
unkind, rude, malicious; who do not walk in the ways of sinners. We know that
we all are sinners, yet we have the choice every single day, every moment, to choose the good, to make wholesome choices,
to be decent human beings: reliable, trustworthy, helpful, persons who live
high-quality lives. We are capable of
doing so, of serving the Lord with a generous heart, a noble heart. God is a
give-away God and calls us to be the same: to give ourselves to others, to give
ourselves to noble endeavors, to give ourselves in ways that make this world,
someone’s world, a better place, to make
a difference in someone’s life today by our smile, by offering a helping hand
to our spouse, our children, our neighbor, a community member; by saying “I’m sorry” when we have wronged
someone, by reaching out to someone who has fallen into “a pit” of loneliness
and despair, who need a shoulder to lean on, of delighting “in the law of the
Lord” (Psalm 1).
The other choice is to make life difficult for someone as
did the crowd in today’s Gospel, Luke 18: 3-43.
A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging when Jesus passed by. He
heard all the noise and wondered what was going on. Someone in the crowd had
the courtesy to tell him that Jesus was passing by. The blind man shouted: “Jesus,
Son of David, have pity on me.” “The people walking in front rebuked him,
telling him to be silent.” Jesus sensed what was happening, “stopped and
ordered that he be brought to him” and He answered his request to be healed of
his blindness.
Who would I have been? The persons willing to help or those
who wanted the man to shut up? Would I have used this opportunity to make a
positive difference, to show that I cared about the person in need? Would I
have given a helping hand or tried to dismiss him?
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