Choice: the Lord's and Ours

January 15, 2019

Tuesday, 1st week in Ordinary time

Hebrews 2: 5-12; Mark 1:21-28

I am reminded of a sequence from the movie Avatar as I reflect on the Word today. There would be a whole battalion gathered to attack an aboriginal tribe and occupy their land. And giving the troops a pep talk, the commander would say, "beyond this mountain everything that breathes is out to kill you"... least aware that one of his own men will be falling in love with a girl in that very tribe and with the whole tribe and its land, becoming one among them! Everything depends on the choices that we make. We make of the reality what we choose to make of it.

Speaking of choices, today the Word tells us, the Lord chose us! The Lord chose to belong to us. The Lord did not choose to be like the angels but chose be born like us and live like us, in everything but sin. Because of this choice the Lord brought salvation to each and every one of us, to the entire humanity. It is upto us now, each of us, by our choice to make that salvation our own. This we do, when we choose the Lord, when we choose the salvation that the Lord brought us, above everything else! 

Choosing the Lord would mean, choosing righteousness, peace, joy, serenity, hope and love, whatever it may cost us. It may be inconvenient, troublesome, at times even lonely to make this choice for the Lord. And we cannot ask, 'what do you want of us Jesus of Nazareth?', for we know it. It is all before us - in the very life that the Lord amidst us and the Words that Jesus has spoken to us. What is important is for us to remember - the Lord came to us... the Lord chose us! It is true that the Lord is determined of his choice... the question is, are we?