How do we choose
what is right?
From the time of
Adam and Eve, humankind has struggled with the notion of responsibility. We make choices every day; sometimes they are
good choices and sometimes they are bad choices, but whatever we choose, we have
to own our choices. The Book of Sirach’s
advice in this respect is always to exercise discernment, that we might choose
well: if you choose, you can keep the commandments. What Psalm 119 calls the law of the Lord are the decrees, precepts and statutes that serve
as guides to living a life grounded in God.
But in every case, we must be open, embracing God’s wisdom rather than
human wisdom, so that we might see as God sees.
Only then can we bring true discernment to our exercising of free will, that
we might know how to observe God’s law, and keep it with all our hearts.
In his Letter to the Corinthians, Paul also underscores the importance of being open to seeing
as God sees when we make our choices: we speak of God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden,
he tells them. That wisdom is Jesus himself,
the Word made flesh, predetermined before
the world began and sent as the best expression of God’s wisdom, to teach
us to be open to God’s will. Jesus has
come not to abolish but to fulfill
the law, he tells the disciples in Matthew’s Gospel; he himself is the new law. And so, he offers a new understanding of the God’s
commandments, clarifying that anger
is just as offensive as killing, mentally
degrading another by looking at them with
lust is just as offensive as adultery,
and so on. In essence, Jesus is
reminding the disciples, as Sirach reminded the people of Israel, as the Church reminds us, that at every moment,
we have a choice to make – and so Jesus hopes that we will clearly discern,
seeking God’s wisdom, choosing life
over death and good over evil, obeying God’s commandments and accepting
responsibility for our choices, aspiring always to be, one day, greatest in the kingdom of heaven, in
perfect union with Jesus himself.
This post is based
on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
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