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Life is more than our actions.
Yes, our actions are important. Our decisions are important.
We need to take responsibility for our own actions and our decisions.
Don’t blame others for your own life. There is no use to blame other people or your circumstances.
That doesn’t do any good. That just makes us feel bad.
It is ultimately your decisions and your actions that shape your life.
Today is Education Sunday and also Graduation Sunday. We recognize those who are graduating.
Congratulations! One chapter of your life is over. And a new chapter begins.
So we call it commencement. A new beginning.
Your decisions and your actions are very important in beginning a new chapter of your life.
What school to go to? Who to meet? What do you want to study? What kind of job? What do you want to do with your life?
These are all very important questions you have to seriously ask yourself.
You need to spend a lot of time in thinking about these questions when you start a new chapter. Because they will shape your future.
You have to pray hard to make good decisions. Don’t make hasty decisions. Don’t follow others mindlessly.
Make good decisions. Choose good actions.
That was how St. Paul lived his life.
He believed that his decisions and his actions would shape who he was.
He wanted to be the best person he could be. He wanted to live a good life.
So, he chose a good path. He chose a path of the life of a Pharisee.
Being a Pharisee meant something noble. A good upright life. Pharisees were elites of that society.
He also chose the best teacher he could find. Gamaliel. Gamaliel was one of the most famous teachers during his time.
Meeting a good teacher is very important. So all the teachers – thank you for your service.
St. Paul got the best education available to him.
He also chose good actions for himself. He set a high moral standard for himself. His actions were noble and admirable.
He said he was blameless as far as the law was concerned. Who could dare to say that?
But when he met Christ, he realized that life was more than his actions and his decisions.
He realized that he could not control his life only with his actions and decisions.
He realized that life was a battle. A battle against challenges, problems, and darkness.
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
It is a battle against the systemic evil that controls our society.
Prejudice. Greed. Selfishness. Indifference.
The battle is not necessarily against certain people. It is against this negative power built-in in our system.
No matter how much you try to live your life with good actions and good decisions, this negative power does not leave you alone.
It makes you helpless and powerless.
After meeting Christ, he became real about himself.
He realized that he was enslaved by this negative spirit. He never knew that before.
But through Christ, he could see clearly how enslaved he was.
In that enslavement, his actions and decisions were made in blindness. He lived in this blindness.
Through Christ, his eyes were open and he could see clearly how enslaved and how blind he was.
This was what he confessed.
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15)
It shows very clearly that he was not as free as he thought.
If St. Paul was not as free as he thought, how much more that is the case for all of us.
So life does not depend only on your actions and decisions.
You need to first spiritually prepare yourself so that you can make good decisions and follow good actions.
So St. Paul said to put on the whole armour of God today.
He used the military language. Armour, breastplate, shield, helmet, and the sword – These were all military words for a Roman soldier.
He used the military language because he saw life as a battle. A battle against this dark, negative energy that fills the whole cosmos.
Yes, life is a battle. A battle against the negative energy that strikes you down and makes you dark.
You need to be spiritually equipped.
My friends, I would like to say three things that you can prepare yourself spiritually.
1. Live a life of principle.
Don’t make decisions only by calculating what’s beneficial for you.
Fasten the belt of truth around your waist. Know the truth and the truth shall set you free.
Seek God’s righteousness, everything else will be added unto you.
Put on the breastplate of righteousness. See what principle you are following.
Life is more than money. Life is more than selfish gain. Life is not just about what’s in it for me.
Follow the principle always. You won’t be easily shaken and tempted.
A principle is more important than profits.
Guard yourself with the truth. Be a principle-oriented person.
2. Have faith.
Take the shield of faith.
Life is challenging. All kinds of challenges will come to you. They are like flaming arrows.
What you need is the shield of faith.
These challenges will make you feel weak. They make you fall.
They take away confidence from you and you will want to give up.
It is faith that gives you the strength to go on.
Even in the worst circumstance, if you have faith, you can come out of it stronger and taller.
Sometimes, you may see no future. That is when you need faith.
If you see the future, you don’t need faith. When you cannot see anything, that is when your faith comes in.
You will be able to see with the eyes of faith what you cannot see with your physical eyes.
3. Be the good news.
Don’t just share the good news. Be the good news.
To those who are in sorrow, be the comforting presence. That is being the good news.
To those who need friends, be their friends. That is being the good news.
To those who are struggling with their own failures. Comfort them and embrace them with gentle and warm arms. That is being the good news.
To those who are unjustly treated. Stand with them to uphold the justice.
To those tyrants who abuse their evil power to oppress others. Confront them. Resist the evil.
That is being the good news.
Be the good news.
Be spiritually equipped. Then your actions and decisions will shape your life in a beautiful way.
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