Peppermint Patty in the Peanuts cartoon was never the greatest of students and didn’t much care for school. On test day, she asked the teacher, “What kind of test are we having today?” The teacher replied, “Waa wa waaa.” Translated, that means “Multiple choice.” Peppermint Patty replied, “Good! I choose not to take it.”
Portions of Jean-Paul Sartre’s writings can be summed up as “We are our choices.” If you think on it, there’s a good bit of truth in that statement. We make choices about everything from what’s for breakfast (if we even decide to get out of bed) to careers and spouses. However, today Joshua puts before us a much bigger decision. In fact, there is none more important. He says, “Revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve.”
We know that kingdoms and empires come and go, and one of the great empires was the Greek.
The Greeks came to power under the man we know as Alexander the Great; however, when Alexander died, the kingdom was divided into four kingdoms, and later Antiochus IV (he was a bad man) would rule the Seleucid kingdom. It was the largest by far and included the area along the Mediterranean Sea, but it wasn’t big enough to suit Antiochus, so he looked to expand south and take the Ptolemaic kingdom, which included Egypt. However, Rome was friendly with the Ptolemaic kingdom and wanted to keep them independent. Even so, in 168 BC Antiochus advanced almost to Alexandria in Egypt, but there he encountered a Roman ambassador.
The two men knew one another, and Antiochus greeted him as an old acquaintance. But the ambassador had not come for a friendly chat. He carried an order from the Roman Senate demanding that Antiochus withdraw his army from Egypt.
Antiochus read the order and told the ambassador he needed time to discuss it with his advisers.
The Roman ambassador didn’t appreciate the answer, so he took his staff and drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus. In doing so, he said to Antiochus, “Before you step outside that circle, you will give your answer.”
There stood Antiochus, one of the world’s most powerful rulers, forced to decide. Would he obey Rome, or would he refuse and face the consequences? He chose to withdraw.
Joshua’s words to the people—“Choose this day whom you will serve”—likely carried the same weight and urgency.
But an enormous difference separates these two encounters. Antiochus was compelled by Rome’s power. The people of Israel were being invited to respond to the God who had already delivered them, protected them, and loved them.
One decision was compelled by fear of an empire. The other was made possible by the grace God had already poured out upon His people and would continue to do so.
Last week, we talked about becoming saints, but how does that happen? It begins with us standing in a circle; however, before we even know we are to step out of it, God is already working within us. That work of God is called prevenient grace.
I’ve recently shared with you the verse from First John, “We love because [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19). That is essentially prevenient grace. It is the grace of God that comes before any response to Him on our part. It is God acting first, awakening our hearts and stirring within us the desire to know Him, to love Him, and to follow Him.
It is this grace that prompts us to choose to step out of the circle, but there’s a bit of a catch—free will. You can choose to step out of the circle in response to God’s love and follow Him, or you can choose to step out of the circle and follow your own path. God will give you the grace to follow Him, but He will never force you. Choosing God and stepping out of the circle is the first of many steps, but stepping out of the circle without choosing God leads to consequences. It doesn’t mean that God will abandon you. He will be there should you change your mind, but it is a path that, without God, leads to death.
But what happens if God’s prevenient grace works in our lives and we take that first step, having chosen God? Does God say, “Good. Now you’re on your own. Best of luck.” No. After that first step out of the circle, we then have access to God’s sustaining grace.
St. Francis de Sales explains this with a beautiful parable about a king who loved his bride very dearly.
One day, as they were walking together, the bride suddenly collapsed. She was unconscious, unable to stand, unable even to help herself.
The king immediately knelt beside her. He took a precious medicine and gently gave it to her, reviving her until she opened her eyes and began to recover.
Then he helped her to her feet. But she was still weak, so he held her up. And when she began to walk, he supported her, carrying much of her weight.
Gradually, her strength returned. The king placed a healing salve on her heart, and eventually she became strong enough to walk on her own.
But the king never let go of her hand.
When the road was difficult, he steadied her. When she grew tired, he was there to support her. And should she stumble, he would be there to catch her.
She was truly walking. Every step was her own. Yet she could never have taken those steps without the king who had first restored her to life and who continued to sustain her along the way.
Francis tells us that the king represents God and the bride represents the human soul.
The bride cannot revive herself. The king must act first. And so it is with God’s prevenient grace. Before we ever reach for God, God has already reached for us.
But that grace does not destroy our freedom. We must respond. We must consent. We must choose to take his hand.
And having taken that first step, we discover that grace has not finished its work. The king continues to hold us, strengthen us, and sustain us throughout our lives. Yet free will is at work here as well.
For example, what happens if the bride decides she no longer needs the king? What if she pulls her hand away and says, “I can manage on my own”? She is free to do so. Love cannot be forced. She may walk away, and she may stumble and fall.
Through all this, the king has not stopped loving her. And should she turn back, she will find his hand still extended toward her. Even the desire to reach for that hand again is a gift of his grace.
We can see sustaining grace at work in the parable Jesus told about the ten virgins.
All ten went out to meet the bridegroom. All ten responded to the invitation. Yet only five were prepared when he arrived. The others had not maintained the readiness their initial decision required. Perhaps that is the warning for us. We may have chosen God long ago, but are we still cooperating with the grace that enables us to remain faithful today?
I say to you, “Become a saint.” If you are sitting here, God’s prevenient grace has worked in your life. While still standing in the circle, you accepted and cooperated with His grace and took the first step in following Him. Now you are walking in the world.
“We are our choices.” Where have your choices led you? Where is God? Have you walked away from Him? Have you stumbled and fallen and don’t know how to get back up again? That’s another way of asking, “Have you rejected the hand of God’s grace that has been extended to you and are no longer cooperating with that grace?” If you are still holding His hand, do not let go. But if you have wandered away, know this: God has not abandoned you. He is still right there, extending His hand to you. Take it. How else do you hope to persevere if you are unwilling to take the hand of the King?
Be a saint. You may think it impossible because you have come to believe you have fallen and will never be able to get back up. You may have been on the wrong path from the very first step outside the circle. You may think it is hopeless, but the Lord our God stands there, with hands of grace outstretched, to bear you up on the wings of eagles. It is only too late when the doors to the wedding feast are closed.
The Lord said,
“I, the Lord your God,
hold your right hand;
it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not,
I am the one who helps you.’”
(Isaiah 41:13)
God’s grace is that help. Take His hand and never let it go. Take His hand and walk with Him.
Let us pray: Father in Heaven, You made us Your children and called us to walk in the Light of Christ. Free us from darkness and keep us in the Light of Your Truth. The Light of Jesus has scattered the darkness of hatred and sin. Called to that Light, we ask for Your guidance. Form our lives in Your Truth, our hearts in Your Love. Through the Holy Eucharist, give us the power of Your Grace that we may walk in the Light of Jesus and serve Him faithfully. Amen.
