Choices; every day, we make hundreds of choices, most of which are of minimal importance. You chose what shirt to wear today; for some that might be a fashion statement, for another it was simply a uniform for work. You chose a particular parking spot in the church lot just before Mass, perhaps thinking of shade for your car, or perhaps thinking of exiting (“Did you back in for a smooth exit?”)

Saint Thomas Aquinas acknowledged that every time we make a choice, we have renounced a different choice.  I can’t get up early and sleep late on the same day; one choice excludes the other. I can’t skip breakfast and eat breakfast on the same day … although I could choose to skip breakfast at one hour, and later choose that I was hungry, and discarding the first choice, I now enjoy scrambled eggs and bacon. Our Gospel today invites us to explore the choices we make about God.

Is God the “… pearl of great price …” for which I would sell everything else to claim to be a disciple? Do I see God as a treasure buried in a field, and before I dig into the field, I know that I must buy that field, that is, commit to God?

I cannot be with you this weekend, as I made a choice – a commitment – to celebrate a wedding for a family friend in San Diego, a choice I made a year ago and put on my calendar. Some things make it to the calendar, and others just sort of happen.  A few things in life can be so important that they change what was previously on our calendar, even if that first event seemed very important at the time.

Ultimately, our important choices define us; they become our resume, and our calendar of events. But they only define our response to God’s plan for us.  We could choose not to come to Mass, and would hopefully feel guilty, or at least feel that we missed the grace that   Jesus offers. We could choose to carry a grudge, or to embrace forgiveness with another.

There is a prayer said quietly at Mass each day, either by the deacon or priest, as the chalice is prepared: “Through the mystery of this water and wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled Himself to share in our humanity.” The portion of water, poured into the chalice, cannot then be removed. So, to, Jesus chose to enter into human history, to pledge His divinity with our humanity into One Savior; in choosing this path, He sanctified every human life. Yours.  Mine.  Our friends.  Our enemies.  Strangers. Every life, sacred in His eyes!

Consider your choices of this past week, and for the coming week. Did you choose God first? Second? Last? Did you choose to make God important in your life, as He certainly sees you as important in His!