CHOOSING LIFE IN LENT

-

 


THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

First reading: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
 I set before you today life or death, blessing or curse

Moses said to the people: ‘See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin on you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’

CHOOSING LIFE IN LENT

The Book of Deuteronomy consists of three major discourses of Moses, of which this passage contains the final conclusion. In this passage, Moses presents the Israelites with a stark choice: to either love and obey God and enjoy life and blessings, or to turn away from God and face death and curses. He then encourages them to choose life. what does it mean, then,  to "choose life?" 

Choosing life simply means being obedient to the commands of God, which in turn is an expression of  our love for God. Simply put, choosing life means to love God in return, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments. This is not a burden, but a joy, for God’s commands are not too hard or too far away, but near and accessible to all who seek it (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).

Need I say that this choice is not only relevant to the ancient Israelites, but also to us today, especially as we enter the season of Lent. The days after Ash Wednesday are days of preparation, gearing the faithful up for Lent. The same choice, my dear people of God, lies before us, the faithful in this season of Lent. Whether or not to take this season seriously enough to make special effort to live in especially devoted loyalty to God’s commands lies with us. A charge we have to keep...

May God bless us, Amen.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

REFLECTION ON THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS- SECOND STATION

-
Image
  THE SECOND STATION : JE SUS CARRIES HIS CROSS We adore you, O Christ and we praise you! Because by your cross you have redeemed the world. REFLECTION Look at how the heavy cross is carried on Jesus' neck in this journey. Jesus knows it wouldn't be easy to carry it to Calvary. He thinks of us and entrusts the death he is about to die to his Father for our sake.  Sometimes we feel that our responsibilities and the struggles we go through in life are too much than we can bear.  Let us take inspiration from Jesus, who, irrespective of how large and heavy the cross was, for our sake, embraced and carried the cross.  PRAYER : My love Jesus, I embrace the struggles and the responsibilities you have given me in my life. I pray you, that through the suffering that you underwent in carrying of the cross, grant me the needed grace, so that I may carry my own in patience and to reach out to others. Lord Jesus crucified! Have mercy on us!  Reflection by Daniel Baah (Theolo...
Read more