Faith: Vital Choice and Decisive Profession
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
“Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”[1] The statement by Saint Peter in response to
Christ’s question is really the solemn declaration of the Christian who has made
the vital choice with regard to whom or what they consider as the most
important value in his or her life.
Facing the crisis of faith in the mystery of the Bread
of Life which was revealed by Christ to be His flesh and blood, many of the
disciples left because they were unable to overcome the shocking truth that in
order to have eternal life they would become cannibals—eating human flesh—an
obviously grave violation of Mosaic laws.
In fact, we have many choices to make. We have to choose where to take our study in
order to insure a bright future. We have
to choose where to apply for a job in order not only to earn a decent living
but also to improve our career. We have
to choose the right person with whom we invest our money in the hope of great
success. We have to choose the only man
or the unique woman for whom we would never regret living and even dying. However wise and careful we were, we did make
mistakes and even deadly mistakes. We
have to learn again and again to grow up in this world with costly
lessons.
With regard to eternal life, each and one us of us
needs being more serious in making our choice, knowing that we are given very
little chance to do so.
Let us listen to Saint Peter who explained the reason
why he decided to stay. “You have the
words of eternal life”, he said to Christ.
This was his choice. This was also his decision. But
this was not a choice and decision out of lightheartedness at all. It was a very serious, very critical and very
responsible choice because Saint Peter must have thought over and over on the
person of Christ and his mission after years of listening to and following the
latter in order to know who He really was and what authority He had in
connection with the promise of eternal life which the Lord God alone can offer
to human beings.
The choice of Saint Peter was vital because he offered
his life in exchange for just a promise which he was not sure if it would one
day come true. The lone proof and ground
for his hope and trust was built on the only one person who he strongly
believed had power to save human beings from death and grant them the life that
never ends. This is Christ, the Lord,
the Savior, the Son of God, and God Himself.
The choice of Saint Peter was, for the abovementioned
reason, also his sincere and trustful profession of faith. We know faith is by no means an act of human
effort and achievement at all. Faith is
absolutely a gift from God alone. Thanks
to the divine gift of faith, we are able to go beyond the limitations of
humanity to reach the truth of God.
Saint Paul in his letter to the Hebrews teaches: “Faith is the
realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.”[2]
The message of the Word of God which you and I have to
take into serious consideration today, dear Sisters and Brothers, is that we
should make the right choice of putting our faith in Christ, and in Him alone,
Who has the words of true and lasting life.
The rest in this world, very needed though, is not as essential and
vital as our life in love, peace and joy with God, the Source of all good
things.
Together with Saint Peter, let us say to Christ:
“Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Fr. Francis Nguyen,
O.P.
