What Delights Our God

In today’s first reading, Ez 18: 21-28, the prophet talks about God’s ways, namely that if a wicked person turns away from his wickedness to live a virtuous life, God delights in him or her, as God does not take pleasure in anyone’s death. Also, if a virtuous person, Ezekiel tells us, turns from virtue and chooses evil, that person is choosing death, a death in which the Lord does not delight.  It may be difficult for us to think about any member of Isis, for instance, or any other hardened criminal, turning from his or her wicked ways  and finding favor with the Lord, as did the good thief on the cross.  The conversion of any sinner, no matter what the wrongdoing might have been, delights the Lord. Our wickedness saddens Him.  

Our salvation is the reason Jesus died on the cross. It is the reason Jesus was obedient to the Father unto death.  His intent and the intent of His Father is that every person turns from evil to do good, accepting the free gift of salvation.  That is what gives God joy, a joy in which God wants each of us to participate for eternity.  He will even lengthen our lives in the hopes that we will in time return to Him in holiness before we face our deaths. That is our God: a God of compassion, a God of mercy, a God of love, a God who, on the cross, suffered severe thirst for the redemption of sinners, the least to the greatest.

In light of God’s mercy, may I not stop praying for the conversion of sinners, my own conversion and that of every person sitting in our prisons anywhere in the world; the conversion of every person addicted to evil, every person deceived by Satan's cunning lies and who, thereby, deny people  their right to be born, their right to justice, their right to being treated with dignity, their right to freedom, their right to a just wage, their right to live life fully and to make choices that are live-giving to them.

Blessed are Those Who Choose to do Good

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?

Choices that give life or take life away: Which do I Choose?

In today's first Scripture session, Sirach 15: 15-20, we are reminded that, if we trust God, we shall live; that God sets before us fire and water, life and death, good and evil and will give us whichever we choose. O, the Wisdom and the greatness of our God! In the second Scripture lesson, 1 Cor 2: 6-10, Paul speaks of a wisdom, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age--all of whom will pass away--but a wisdom we know as Christ Crucified, a wisdom modeled by Christ who gave His life for the ransom of us all. We, too, having the choice of water and fire, good and evil, life and death, are faced every day with choices that lead either to life or to degrees of death. We are faced with the option of giving of ourselves so others, and ourselves, live life more fully or choosing to live only for ourselves, saving our lives selfishly for our own purposes. The choice is ours. God gives us what we choose. What am I willing to lose for the sake of another, husbands/wives for the sake of their spouse and their children, women/men religious/priests for the sake of those we serve, for fellow community members, for the good of others?