Choices

Emily stood at the crossroads, the sun setting behind her, illuminating the two paths before her. One path led through a serene forest, promising tranquility but with many unknowns, while the other meandered toward a bustling town filled with lights and excitement. After a brief moment of hesitation, she took a deep breath and chose the forest, drawn by its quiet allure. As she walked into the embrace of the trees, she felt a wave of contentment, realizing that sometimes the right choice is the one that feels like a warm hug for the soul.

Every day we are faced with choices or decisions that need to be made. Some are important and others inconsequential. You made a choice this morning – you decided to come to Mass rather than remain in your room or apartment. I am glad that you decided to come to church. Some choices and decisions at times cause anxiety because they have the potential to influence our future, and we have a tendency to shy away. We might want to avoid making a major decision that will determine how or where we live. So, we procrastinate and take a chance that things will work out for the best before we actually make a decision.

Today’s scripture readings describe choices that the chosen people were faced with. The first lesson deals with the choice that had to be made once they were led into the Promised Land after their forty-year journey through the desert. The Gospel lesson deals with the choice that the disciples must make concerning their life with Christ when He told them that unless they eat his body and drink his blood, they would have no life within them. You and I are faced with the same choices today. For you, me, and many others these decisions have become increasingly more difficult. I will try to explain why.

We now live in a post-Christian world. When President Barack Obama made the statement that the United States of America is no longer a Christian nation. We better get used to it! I was disturbed and did not want to believe that our nation was no longer Christian. The United States is still a religious nation, but it is not a Christian nation. Yes, there are Christians living in our nation, but we are a minority. There is a new religion, but it is not Christian. Msgr. James Shea, the president of the University of Mary in North Dakota has written about and spoken on this at great length.  Great religious thinkers like John Henry Newman, Pope John XXIII, Pope Benedict XVI, St. John Paul, II and others have pointed to new turn away from religion and to the secular in which there is little need for God in our lives.

Ever since the period of the Enlightenment in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there has been a pulling away from organized religion. France and Italy once Christian nations are no longer Christian. The ancient heresy of Gnosticism that plagued the Church in its early history has once again challenged our belief in the need for religion and for Christ. Consequently, when Christ is no longer the center of life, four substitutes come into play according to Saint Thomas Aquinas. These are the search for wealth, for pleasure, for power and for fame. We talk about the American dream in which we search for happiness in amassing enough money to live the good life, for all the toys, entertainment, sex that give pleasure to our senses, for dominance and control over each other and for fame and notoriety so that we can be famous and looked up to by others. We want to be better than others! But we never seem to be able to be successful in having enough money, many toys and gadgets that give us pleasure, for the ability to tell others how to live and to be famous.

When Moses died, Joshua chosen by God, took over. He led the people into the Chosen Land. Then he gathered the people and addressed them: If is does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. The people answered, Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods. For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes and protected us along our entire journey and among the peoples through whom we passed. Therefore, we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God. They made the right choice!

In the gospel lesson, Jesus’ disciples said, This saying – Unless you eat my body and drink my blood you have no life within in you – is hard; who can accept it?”  Many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Jesus. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” They had to make a decision. Sadly, many of our friends and even family members no longer believe in the Eucharist – the body and blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. Many no longer attend weekly Mass but still claim to be Catholic. They no longer live according to the teachings of the Church. Yet, they are good people, helping and loving others like the poor and the oppressed. Sadly, they have left us and the Church and search for wealth, pleasure, power, and fame.

Peter spoke up and said “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” The Twelve made the right choice to remain with and in Christ.

When I began my homily, I congratulated you on making the right choice to come to Mass. However, there is another choice to be made. It is not enough to just come to Mass each Sunday. The deeper choice is before you. Will you make Jesus Christ the center of your life? This is the choice the Apostles made. Will you make this choice? Joshua challenged God’s people to declare where they stand, even in unsettled times. You also live in unsettled times today as well. Your faith is being challenged. Will you be a nominal Christian, or will you decide to live in and for Jesus Christ? The choice is yours.

Jesus said “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe. — For this reason, I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” Pray that the Holy Spirit of Truth will lead you to a deeper life in Christ today.

God be blessed! Now and forever. Amen.