(Given at the 5:30 pm Sunday Youth Mass at OLP)
I remember the feeling when I was younger of not being chosen. My 6th grade class was going to Ameritown, and I ran for mayor. But, I lost. And this hurt. Now, if I had better self-esteem, I could’ve maybe convinced myself that I was too good to be mayor. But really, if I knew then what I know now, it wouldn’t have affected me as much. If I knew then whom I know now, it would’ve been different. Imagine being one of David’s brothers in our first reading and hearing the prophet Samuel say, “The Lord has not chosen you.” That probably would’ve stung. Of course, it wasn’t their vocation from God to be king, so indeed they weren’t meant for it. God made it clear to Samuel that His priorities are focused on what lies beneath appearances, and David fit the bill. In our Gospel passage, the blind man is healed of his blindness, but is almost immediately ridiculed for it. He tries to defend himself against the Pharisees and is thrown out. He’s utterly rejected. But then, Jesus enters the scene and finds him. Jesus chooses him amidst rejection. Not only does the blind man receive healing for his sight, but he later recognizes Jesus as Lord in faith. Jesus changed everything for him. Jesus changes everything for us. God has chosen you and me in Christ, just as he chose the blind man. Maybe not for healing from physical blindness, but for healing from spiritual blindness via faith. Our second reading reminds us that we who were once in darkness are now light in the Lord. We are to live as children of light. We are chosen in Christ for good works, according to Ephesians 2:10. We are his workmanship. This is our vocation, our calling, our identity. And it begins with faith in Christ. At baptism, we received the supernatural gift of faith as well as hope and charity. We were made right with God. We became real sons and daughters of God. Our blindness due to sin has been washed away. We can see Jesus clearly just as he sees us clearly. This choice of God for us is greater than when God chose David for king. In Christ, we are chosen. Individually and together. Ephesians 1 puts it beautifully, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.” You and I are chosen. And that changes everything. Ultimately, appearances don’t matter; being ridiculed doesn’t matter; being rejected by human standards doesn’t matter. No matter what we may be going through, Jesus has chosen us for himself, and his choices are irrevocable. Romans 11:29. We can refuse his choice for us, through mortal sin, but that doesn’t change the fact that he has chosen us. It’s actually because of his choice for us that we can come back to him in confession. My brothers and sisters, when we realize this, when we get this, we can endure just about anything. It wouldn’t have mattered whether or not I was chosen to be mayor at Ameritown in the sixth grade. It doesn’t matter that I am not going to be king of anything. What matters is my identity in Christ. What matters is your identity in Christ. And this changes everything.