October 13, 2023, Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Today’s readings: First Reading – Wisdom 7:7-11; Second Reading – Hebrews 4: 12-13 and the Gospel – Mark 10:17-30).
Every human being has been endowed with different potentials by God. For example, we have the potential to think, to like or love, to hate etc.
The greatest potential God has given us is our ability to make choices. This ability to choose things in life is what makes us different from other animals. We choose because of freedom.
God has given us the freedom to choose what we want and what we do not want. Even when there is an external compulsion, we can still make our choice. Even in the matter of death, we can still choose. That’s why we have martyrs who chose death rather than sin.
In our life we are required to make many choices. Often, the choices we make is according to our own attractions and desires. Also in life we have many possibilities and we cannot choose all. We have to choose what we desire most.
In today’s first reading from the book of wisdom, Solomon decided to choose wisdom rather than gold, wealth. He was given an opportunity by God to choose what he wanted but he chose wisdom.
In the Gospel, the wealthy young man was given the choice of either to follow Christ or wealth but he made a choice of his wealth.
What choice do we make in our lives?
In our families, we shall be confronted with many choices to make as Christians. Maybe, your family members may suggest you go and make sacrifices to some deities because of some abnormalities happening in your family. Will you choose to follow them or would you say to them that I am a Christian and cannot go with them.
What about money? Would you choose money rather than God? These are important questions and many others we ought to ask ourselves.
What do we choose in life that is contrary to the gospel? What do we choose instead of Jesus?
We pray that Almighty God may help us to choose Christ rather than anything else.
May Almighty God bless us and protect us from all evil through Christ our Lord Amen.
Have a lovely and blessed Sunday.
Rev. Fr. Ambrose Onyeka Anene SDB, is the Parish Priest of Church of the Archangels, Gaduwa, Abuja.
