The Gift of Choice

Last week I traveled to Massachusetts to attend my uncle's funeral service. He was a giving, thoughtful, faithful person in his long life, and I was grateful both my son and I were able to make the trip.

As expected, as we were buckling in for the flight to begin, the announcer noted that we have many airlines to choose from, and thanked us for choosing theirs.

No kidding --we have many choices, not only for airlines, but for just about everything these days. We have (fortunately) many choices for elected leaders, and as the Illinois primaries approach, TV ad after TV ad reminds us that the choice we make matters. We have an abundance of options for things from pizza to toothpaste in every grocery store, and a multitude of possibilities of special events in which to invest our time and attention. Sometimes, when I walk in a bookstore, I'll find my mind just "freeze" as I try to figure out which section to walk toward to begin my browsing - there are so many interesting options!

As people of faith, there is an essential choice we make that shapes all our other decisions - the choice of whose we are. During Lent, we reclaim that central choice, and ponder how, as Christ's followers, we are being invited to re-shape our life in the world, and our response to others.

This Sunday, as we gather for worship, we will listen to music given by the Cherub, Chapel, and Chancel Choirs, pray and reflect and break the bread of Holy Communion together. And we will hear, from Gospel of Mark (10:17-27) the story of one man who was challenged by Jesus to take another look at whose he really was -- and to use "the gift of choice" he already held, to open him up to the life he most deeply longed for.