THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE
I know someone who made a commitment to be awake at an early hour yet chooses to watch movies late in the evening until early morning and, thus, wakes up late. I know someone who has to be out of the house before a certain hour in the morning to beat the traffic on his way to work, but takes an extra five minutes in the shower and, thus, comes in late for work. And then there’s someone who knows she is a candidate for diabetes, yet she constantly chooses soft drinks over water and sweets over less sugary food.
Life is all about the choices we make and sometimes about the decisions others make that affect our lives as well as their own.
Who is to blame for not waking up, being late, and ultimately having a diabetic condition? We have to stand up and take responsibility for our choices. We cannot spend our lives blaming others for the things that are, in fact, under our own control.
In telling the disciples that the “Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus reminds us that the Law is there to serve us and help us in discerning the choices we need to make in a given situation. We cannot simply pass the buck to others or even the law itself in deciding what we do. In a roundabout way, this demonstrates that we are the lord of our lives as far as decision-making is concerned. Jesus is Lord of our lives, but we, guided by grace, have to make the choices that determine our character and who we are in the world.
One of the fundamental issues of discipleship is taking responsibility for our actions. David knew it was OK to use the bread reserved for the priests to feed his men — human need being a higher good than a religious rule about who may eat certain food. Let us pray for the strength and courage to form our own convictions under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and then to act upon them. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL
REFLECTION QUESTION: Is your life built upon the rock of faith or the shifting sands of popular opinion?
Jesus, grant me the grace to open my heart and mind to the truth Your Spirit will teach me and then grant me the strength and courage to act upon it.
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