Thursday after Ash Wednesday: A choice

In today’s Gospel Jesus says to us: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

These are very demanding words. But to understand them in a proper way we have to refer to the first reading where Moses set before people “life and prosperity, death and doom” and they had to choose. In this case we can say that a choice is obvious. Of course that it is better to choose ‘set number one’ rather than this second one.

In today’s Gospel Jesus says that we are in exactly the same situation. Only following him we choose ‘set number one’. However in some sense it seems ridiculous. Because how it is possible that denying ourselves and taking our cross we don’t choose death and doom, but life and prosperity? Jesus through the example of his life showed us the way to eternal life, to the fullness of life; therefore we have to see our earthly life in the light of this eternal life. Otherwise choosing only this earthly life we will be able to reach much, but sadly only in this earthly life, meanwhile a life and prosperity are still waiting also after death. Let this Lent will be a time of good choices.