WORD 2day: Tuesday, 33rd week in Ordinary time
November 16, 2021: 2 Maccabees 6: 18-31; Luke 19: 1-10
Our choices determine, the person that we are! Our choices manifest the sort of community we form! Be it our personal choices, or our collective choices as a community, or society or as whole humanity, we constantly keep making statements as to who we are, through our choices.
Eleazar makes a choice for God by not scandalising the little ones of God against a life for God. No one would have objected to it, if he had saved himself of extreme troubles; in fact they were merciful towards him. But what did not allow him was his interior, personal choices for God! And that became the greatest of witness to his fellow believers!
Zachaeus makes a choice to hold on to Christ and let everything else go, a witness of inspiration that he gives as an elder! Those who knew the old Zachaeus certainly would have been blown away in surprise. His choices were absolutely unbelievable!
The long and short of the message today is: even if don't give a great witness per se, I need to atleast refrain from causing scandals for the little ones. However, both these are equally demanding and not exclusive of each other. We know the amount of damage that scandals are causing to the believing community these days. The crux of our Christian life is making a choice for God, for a life worthy of God and a life that is uplifting for the people of God!