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When
it was evening, Jesus reclined at table with the Twelve. And
while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you
will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to
him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He
said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it
is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is
betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been
born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You
have said so.”
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The
lives of many celebrities follow a pattern that ends with stardom in
spite of overwhelming difficulties. Johnny Cash’s story, as
told in the movie “Walk the Line” is no different. His
childhood left much to be desired, especially his relationship with
his father. Running to the military, and then out on his own, he
got married, had children, making commitments that he would not honor
later on, because he was still searching for the right "feel" for his
life. He made choices, choices that
should have been significant for his whole life, but were not. In
the process, he hurt himself and the people around him, especially his
wife and children. Success and happiness would come to him eventually,
but in the process, he had to violate earlier commitments.
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We
can’t judge the lives of people. But, we can study their
lives in light of some mistakes that they made, hoping to be able to
discover some things that can be learned for our own lives. Judas
Iscariot made mistakes, mistakes that came from choices that he made
somewhere along the line. He probably did not think through the
choices he made, especially with regard to what they meant for his
future. He chose to betray a man that he had been with for a
significant portion of his life because he thought it was the right
thing to do, given the direction he wanted for his life. His
problem was not that he led an evil life; in fact, he did not. His
problem was the choices that he made without thinking enough about them.
As we grow, we make choices. Some of them are insignificant for our futures. But many of them are quite significant: we choose to go to college or not to, or which college to attend. We choose a major in college. We choose to get married. We choose to have children. Those choices must be made with deliberation and thought. Circumstances may change in life, we may fall out of love, we may have opportunities that never presented themselves before we made the choices. But we made the commitment, and permanent commitments should remain permanent commitments, no matter what happens. It has been said that the major problem with people’s lives is that they don’t realize how important their choices are early on in life. If the statement is true, the chances are that we should spend a significant amount of time of preparation before we choose. |
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THOUGHT
What
are the most important choices that people make early in life?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, we live with the examples of people who are dedicated
to you, and indeed, examples of people who have not made the right
choices with their lives. Give us the grace to make wise choices,
and especially the grace to prepare well for those choices. Be
with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |