DT 30:15-20
PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
LK 9:22-25
Art and literature are fascinated with the consequences of our choices. For example, the Broadway musical If/Then and the Gwyneth Paltrow movie Sliding Doors both explore how a young woman’s life might proceed differently based on one simple choice. Science fiction writers—and some theoretical physicists—go much further, positing that every choice we make bifurcates reality into an infinite multiplicity of parallel universes. Today’s readings present us with three big “if’s,” along with some consequential “then’s,” that encourage us to make some choices about how we will live out the Lenten season, and really, how we will live out our lives.
Moses’ challenge to the Israelites culminates a sweeping recap of the Exodus and the establishment of the covenant and the law. It follows a long exposition of the blessings that flow from fidelity to the covenant and the curses that result from infidelity. The choice is stark and seemingly a no-brainer: “Choose life.” But, as U Penn psychology professor Angela Duckworth notes, “The problem with human beings … is that they repeatedly make decisions that undermine their own long-term well-being, even when they know full well they are eating the wrong thing, that they are spending their money on the wrong thing, and they are spending their time in an unprofitable way.” Even though the option of following the covenant is highly incentivized, we know that the Israelites will repeatedly turn away from God—just as we do ourselves.
In the Gospel, Jesus presents an “if” that gives a deeper, more challenging context to our choices. If we wish to follow him faithfully, then we must deny ourselves and take up our own individual crosses, repeatedly and consistently. The expected incentives are inverted: our gain is found in loss, and the truest living is achieved through dying to self.
At the outset of Lent, we are reminded of the high stakes before us. We can choose to abide in the covenant, or to turn away. If we seek to follow, we must be prepared to choose every day the path of self-emptying love. Incentives and reasoned argument may not be guaranteed to result in good decision making, but we’re not without aids. St. Ignatius encourages us to prayerfully imagine the “then’s” of our “if’s” in order to discern the best course of action. And through the Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, we can respond to God’s invitation to each of us to choose life and experience it abundantly.
David Brinker is Assistant Director of the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art (MOCRA).
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