Thursday after Ash Wednesday
A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. Basically that means that in order to be healthy I have to avoid gluten in my diet. There’s no medication or treatment or even “cure” for the disease; but, thankfully, if I completely cut gluten out of my diet I can be healthy and avoid the short and long-term consequences of the disease. This news was both good and bad for me. The good news was that I learned the reason for having become severely anemic and feeling increasingly nauseated every time I ate. The bad news for me was that it meant giving up eating so many foods that I had eaten all my life and thoroughly enjoyed. It was harder than I thought to give up all the good breads, pastries, pastas, pretzels, etc. that I took for granted and ate regularly until then. On the other hand, I had become quite sick and was relieved to learn that I could feel better again and regain my energy by changing my eating habits.
Today’s readings present us with the opportunity to choose life or choose death. The first reading from Deuteronomy (30: 15-20) makes it very clear that if we love God, walk in God’s ways, and keep God’s commandments, we will live. And we are cautioned that if “you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish.” I don’t think it is often that we intentionally serve other gods, but if we don’t attune our hearts to God and listen, we can be led astray.
For me, this is like my experience with gluten. What looks good and tastes good and seems rather harmless (and is even part of a healthy diet for many people) is now harmful to me, and if ignored could eventually lead to death. For me to literally “choose life” I have to sacrifice, give up, that which I am tempted to have. Symbolic of what Jesus calls us to in the gospel passage (Luke 9: 22-25) in which we again are given the opportunity to choose life, we must deny our very selves, take up our cross daily and follow him. What keeps me disciplined in my gluten-free diet is that I feel better, am healthier, have more energy and can prolong my life by denying myself these certain foods. In a similar way, our denying ourselves the many temptations that surround us on a daily basis and picking up our daily crosses with Jesus is choosing life, which brings the many blessings that we read about in today’s psalm (1: 1-2,3,4 & 6).
As in the words of the psalmist, then we will be “like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade.” If we want to choose life, if we want to thrive like the tree in this psalm, we need to stay close to the source of life, rooted in God’s word and God’s love, and hold fast to God.
As we begin this Lenten season, let us choose to daily turn away from the false gods in our life, and do something, instead, to strengthen our connection with the Source of Life.
- Eileen Miller