It is our choice

The Thursday after Ash Wednesday in the Roman Catholic Lectionary presents texts which encourage us to choose. The understanding of the importance of choice in our relationship with the Divine is too often treated lightly. Genesis presents choice as the human attribute. The text today from Deuteronomy encourages the Israelites to choose their relationship with God over a self reliant path. It is presented as a life or death choice. The psalmist advocates a path of daily meditation on the law of the Lord. The psalmist praises the wisdom of this choice and the fruit of this relationship. Luke relates Jesus presentation of the consequence of his mission. His choice would lead to great suffering and rejection. Those who chose to follow Him would also have to deny themselves and through this denial they would end up choosing the Life that is presented in the Garden of Eden, during the Exodus in the desert, at daily meditation and through self denial. It is our choice.