What if Lent Could Rekindle Your Faith? Exploring the Kerygma
Life can take us on unexpected paths, and sometimes our faith journey can feel like it’s taken a detour. If you’ve found yourself distant from your faith, or if you’re simply curious about exploring it again, this Lenten season offers a gentle invitation to reconnect. These daily reflections focus on the Kerygma, the core message of Christianity – a message of love, hope, and new beginnings. We’ll be exploring eight key “Acts” of God’s story, from creation to our present call to partnership with Him. There’s no pressure, no judgment, just an invitation to consider a different perspective and perhaps rediscover a connection you thought was lost.
Act 7 of the Kerygma: The Invitation and the Choice
“While God extends a loving invitation to all, the ultimate decision to respond rests with each individual. We are free to choose to accept or reject God’s love. This choice has eternal consequences. By choosing to follow God, we embrace life in abundance, while choosing to reject him leads to separation and ultimately, death.”
Deuteronomy 30:19
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live.”
Reflection
As we continue this Lenten journey, let us reflect on the profound freedom God has given us. He calls us to Himself with love and mercy, but ultimately, the choice is ours. This passage from Deuteronomy reminds us that we stand at a crossroads, facing a choice between life and death, between blessing and curse.
God, in His infinite wisdom, does not force Himself upon us. He sets before us the path of life, a path of love, joy, and peace, and invites us to walk with Him. This invitation is not a burden but a gift, an opportunity to experience the fullness of life in Christ. However, the choice is ours. We can choose to embrace God’s love and follow His ways, or we can choose to turn away, leading to separation and ultimately, a life devoid of meaning and purpose.
This passage reveals God’s character as one of love, respect, and ultimate freedom. He desires a relationship with us, a relationship built on love and mutual respect. He never forces Himself upon us; He allows us to choose, knowing that true love flourishes when it is freely given and received.
As we move forward from this Lenten season, let us renew our commitment to choosing life, to choosing God. Let us strive to live out our baptismal promises, to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us open our hearts to the grace of God and allow Him to transform us into the people He created us to be.
Prayer
Loving God, thank you for the gift of free will and the opportunity to choose life with you. Help me to make choices that reflect your love and to live out my baptismal promises with joy and faithfulness. Guide me on the path of righteousness and fill my life with your abundant grace.
Action
Today, take a moment to reflect on the choices you have made in your life. Are they choices that align with God’s will? Are they choices that lead to life and abundance? Ask God for the grace to make choices that reflect your love for Him and your desire to live a life of purpose and meaning.
The Kerygma
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post