I want to share a story about a man who committed a serious crime. He was sent to the king for his punishment. The king told him that he had a choice of two punishments: he could be sent to prison for 40 years or accept what’s behind the big, dark, scary, iron door. The criminal quickly decided on prison. As he was walked off to prison, he turned to the king and asked, “By the way, out of curiosity, what’s behind that door?” The king laughed and said, “You know, it’s funny. I offer everyone the same choice, and nearly everyone picks prison.” But the criminal said again, “Well, tell me now since I can’t choose differently. What’s behind the door?” The king paused and then answered, “Freedom, but it seems most people are so afraid of the unknown that they immediately choose prison.”
In our sins, in our faults, and in our weaknesses, which door do we allow our minds and hearts to walk towards – strict justice for ourselves or the undeserved, maybe unfamiliar, gift of Love and Mercy of Jesus? A great example of this is the series, The Chosen (and I cannot recommend this series enough). It’s about Jesus’ life and the lives of his disciples and it does a great job of bringing Jesus to life in our world today. There is one particular scene about Mary Magdalene that stands out when I think about choices and prisons. We see that she was living a very sinful life and no one could help her out of it. It was so bad that demons were tormenting her, but then something happens – the tormenting stops and she is free. As she is trying to explain her freedom to someone, she simply says, “I was one way and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between…was Him.
Mary Magdalene had an encounter with Christ. For us, it is always about an encounter with Christ. It is in this encounter of love that we want to repent to be better, not out of fear of hell, but because of Him. For me, this deep feeling to want to repent and change my life was when Christ called me to priesthood. I was once one way, but now I am completely different – ever since taking His call seriously back in 2005. But with that being said, I am still bumbling and stumbling along on this journey knowing that I am a sinner in need of a savior.
Christ wants this personal encounter for everyone and as much as we love this world and the joys that this world can bring, we know that this world is passing. Our job is to be witnesses walking together in faith as prisoners of Christ and helping others to choose the door of Christ. If we can learn how to be a prisoner of Christ, more and more people will know through our witness that we were once one way, but now are on fire with love because of Him. In our time when there so many choices, so many doors to choose from, let us pray us pray each day that the door we choose is always the one that leads to Him!