Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk  

 Sixth Sunday of the Year, A – Feb 12, 2017

Readings: Sir 15:15-20; Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34; 1st Cor 2:6-10; Gospel Mat 5:17-37 or Mat 5:20-22A, 27-28, 33-34A, 37.

Theme:  Salvation: Our Choice, Our Chance!

Friends in Christ, our Sunday Liturgy puts before us a God who not only created us in His image and likeness but gave us freedom and respects our choices. Nothing could be loftier than creating free beings who have the capacity to decide what they want to do with their lives. If He wanted, God would have created human beings without freedom which means that we wouldn’t have being different from robots.

We probably would have been like a remote-control in the hands of an operator. But to demonstrate his benevolence to creators whom He cherishes and respects, God decided to put before us right and wrong, good and bad as well as clearly laying out the implication of our choices which could make or mar us.

This is precisely the message of our first reading (Sir 15:15-20) wherein Ben Sirach tells the people of Israel as he says to us today, “if you choose you can keep the commandments.” The Wisdom book further discloses that “…he has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. Before man are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him.”

In the daily events of our lives, we make choices – the choice to a better education; the choice of sustainable career, jobs and finances; the choice to healthy meals; the choice to good medical care; the choice to luxurious cars; the choice to state of the art mansions and the choice to finest clothing – the summary of our choices is that we often make good choices. However, most times, we fall short of making good choices for our faith.