33rd Sunday Ordinary Time (A) 19 November 2023 Adventure
There are people in life who seek challenges. They want to try everything especially dangerous and exhilarating things. Like skydiving, hiking, anything with speed.
Others want to avoid all that adventure and have a nice quiet life at home, with regular habits.
Wherever you fit in with that spectrum, you probably have a fairly high degree of choice. So, for instance, no one will make you go skydiving if you do not really want it.
There is one adventure, however, to which we are all called to participate, and with this particular adventure we do not really have a choice.
This is the adventure of being created and then called to salvation. Coming to life, and then coming to eternal life.
God made us without our consent; He did not ask us first. If He had asked we might have refused. In any case, here we are!
People sometimes say: I never asked to be born. This is said as a kind of complaint, implying that the person concerned would have preferred not to exist.
However, it is only in bad moments we would say that. who really would regret tasting of this life, given all its joyful moments, and the prospect of eternal happiness?
And that is just being alive. There is more to come. Each one of us is challenged to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
We did not ask for that either, but how can we refuse? Lord, to whom shall we go? (Jn 6,68).
We are here, however we got here, so why not make the best of it? We can make this thing work.
God did not just make us and then throw us to the wolves. He gives us all the necessary support in the form of the Church, the sacraments, fraternity among ourselves, individual talents etc.
There are challenges, and many of them, but none of them beyond our reach (cf 1 Cor 10,13). We have to give up various bad habits and replace them with the corresponding good habits.
It is easy to see why one might think it is too hard, but if it leads to greater happiness, how can we lose?
As to the matter of suffering if more people obeyed God's laws there would be a lot less suffering in the world. So that is another incentive to be good.
Even those without faith would probably like to have more self-control for instance. These days there is much emphasis on wellness and living the best life, and the like.
Carefully devoid of religious reference these pursuits are designed for happiness, and would succeed to a degree, but there is still a void to be filled, which only knowledge of God can fill.
Ask the Apostles if they are glad now that they followed Jesus when He called them.
God calls some to a harder task than others cf parable of the talents.
Again if you have more talents more is expected of you; and you might say that is unfair too! But here again the more we multiply our gifts the more happiness goes with that. Ask Our Lady, or any saint.
Instead of complaining we give thanks, for making us, for saving us; for being strict with us, so that we can discover real joy, not just the passing pleasures of this life.
We do have a choice how deep we go, but once we know God's importance we might as well go as far as possible.
The ‘burden’ of existence cannot be helped, but can be enjoyed!
Stick with it, and you will hear one day the very welcome words: Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord (Mt 25,23).
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