Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Choice is Yours (Is 1:10,16-20)

"Cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land;" There is much to meditate upon in the first reading today. What strikes me though is the fact that the choice is always ours. The Lord lays out before us the truth and the invitation to live in the truth, but the choice is always ours. Do we want to cease from doing evil? Do we want to learn to do good? Is justice our aim? That is to say is doing what is right( justice) our aim or is selfishness? Notice how the Lord says If you are willing, the choice is ours. Many people say that it is too hard to change. Many say they cannot get over things that happened to them or things that they did. Many say that God is okay with their selfishness as if they actually prayed and had a relationship with Him. Many say that they believe but but in truth only obey their own authority. Lies all lies! God reveals the Truth to us today. We can change our ways, but we must be obedient. We must be willing and obey. This is the first step in learning to do good. Justice must be our aim. Our goal must be to do what is right. Then in His Mercy God will bless us. We will have the good things in life and we will be able to enjoy them. "Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool." This is the call to conversion of Lent. The choice is yours!

4 comments:

ephphatha13 said...

You once defined justice as "right relationship" and piety as "to do what is right". Is piety then, what is often called the virtue of "religion" or doing what is right to God? Is selfishness the vice opposing the virtue of justice?

ephphatha13 said...

I learn a lot about a virtue by learning what exactly is the opposing vice. It's usually suprising and revealing. I can't seem to find anything on the vice opposing Justice. The closest I came is violence (an impulse from without tending to force one without any concurrence on his part to act against his choice).

jceomi said...

Sorry ephphatha13 you have good questions but I do not know the answers to them. I am not an expert just a priest.

ephphatha13 said...

"Just a priest", that's a good one.