The keyword of today’s Holy Scriptures texts is „life. Through the mouth of Moses, God calls his people: „Choose your life.” Each of us carries within us a desire for life, for a happy life. However, the problem is how to achieve such a life. It is clear to us that we have to do something about it. The prevailing opinion is that importing as much money as possible is necessary because we can treat ourselves to whatever we want to be happy with it. However, observing people’s lives more closely reveals that this is not the way to lasting happiness. So what should we do if I want to choose life?
Moses says to his people: “If you obey the commands of the Lord your God, walk in his ways and keep his decrees, commandments and statutes, you will live… because he is your life and long age…“ With the help of scientific research, we know more and more perfectly what living beings, a living cell, consist of. But we do not yet fully understand the very fact of life; it remains a secret. When it is true of biological life, the more it is true of a person’s personal life because it is too complex, mysterious a fact, rather than being able to create it ourselves and thus organize it so that we permanently experience ever fuller happiness.
As in many other areas, we follow experts’ instructions; if we want to work towards a successful goal, it is more accurate in our lives. The time of our earthly existence is too short to afford to experiment with our lives. Those who try to do this seek happiness according to their wishes once there and then elsewhere, usually at the end of their earthly life they are like disappointed castaways. If we are wise, we should trust God, who is not only the creator of life but also gives us guidelines for our decisions in his caring love. Whenever we follow them, we choose life.
In the Gospel (Luke 9, 22-25), God speaks directly to us in the person of his Son. He calls us not to cling to our ideas about life but to follow him, that is, to follow his example and word, to be faithful to him despite the difficulties and sufferings that may result from this in this real world, marked by evil and disrespect for God. According to his example, we should be so faithful to God that we are also willing to lose our earthly, carnal life. Jesus guarantees that it will not be a loss but a complete salvation of our lives. The period of Great Lent is supposed to be a time in which we resolutely step on the path to Jesus Christ in the certainty that we are thus moving towards our ever fuller life.
Practical instruction: I will ask God to strengthen my trust in him as the source and giver of life and my willingness to make decisions faithful to Jesus Christ and his truth.
Prayer: Almighty God, precede our actions with your inspiration and accompany them with your help so that we can start and complete all events with you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who is God and lives and reigns with you in union with the Holy Spirit for all ages.
