Daily Readings - Thu Mar 03 2022
Deuteronomy
15See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.16For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live20and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Luke
22And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."23Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?
Sermon
In today’s readings, we are presented with a profound choice: between life and death, between self-interest and self-denial. In Deuteronomy, Moses lays before the Israelites the consequences of their decisions, urging them to choose life by following God’s commandments. This passage is set in the context of the Israelites standing on the brink of the Promised Land, ready to inherit the land God had sworn to their ancestors. Moses reminds them that their choices have real consequences—not just for themselves, but for their children and future generations. The choice to love and obey God is not merely a moral decision but one that leads to life, blessings, and prosperity.
In the Gospel, Jesus shifts the focus from external choices to the interior disposition of the heart. He speaks of the necessity of self-denial and taking up one’s cross as the path to true life. This teaching comes in the context of His own journey toward Jerusalem, where He will suffer, die, and rise again. Jesus makes it clear that discipleship is not about comfort or gain but about surrendering one’s life for the sake of the Kingdom. The paradox He presents is striking: to save one’s life, one must lose it; to find oneself, one must give oneself away.
These readings invite us to reflect on the choices we make in our daily lives. Are we choosing life by loving God and following His ways, or are we turning away, seduced by the empty promises of the world? Jesus calls us to embrace the cross, not as a burden, but as the path to true freedom and fulfillment. In a world that often values self-preservation and comfort above all else, the Gospel challenges us to reevaluate what it means to live a meaningful life. Let us ask ourselves: am I willing to let go of my own desires and ambitions for the sake of following Christ? Am I ready to lose my life so that I might truly find it? May we, like the Israelites, choose life—life in all its fullness, life rooted in love for God and service to others.