Life or Death

One

Moses

At the end of the Exodus story, when Moses is about to die, he presents the Israelites with a very simple, very famous choice. He says, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you, I have set before you life and death… choose life, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

This would be the choice that the Israelites would vacillate between: life or death, idolatry on the one hand, or worship of the one, true God on the other. Because every false God, every idol, would eventually demand human sacrifice. Every false God demanded blood. Only the true God, only the Lord Himself, did not want human sacrifices. The true God did not want to be worshipped by death; He wanted to give His people fullness of life.

And that choice, the choice between life and death, was offered to the people again, many thousands of years later. This time, each choice had a face. One was the face of a murderer: a man who brought death. The other was the face of the savior: the one who could bring people back to life. And the people cried out, and they made their choice. They called out for Barabbas, and they chose death.

Two

Barrabas or Jesus?

Satan, under the disguise of false gods, demanded human sacrifice. The idols demanded death. By contrast, the true God tested Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, but interrupted before the deed could be carried out, and ever afterwards, He forbade human sacrifice.

When the true God came to earth as a man, He came to heal and restore life. Jesus never killed anybody. As God, all life was His gift, and could be withdrawn at His goodwill and pleasure.

When the soldier struck Him on the face, at His trial, for instance, He could have simply said, “Cease to be,” and that soldier’s body and soul would have evaporated into endless nothingness. But instead, Jesus continued to sustain that soldier in life. He continued to supply existence to that man, and spoke to Him patiently and reasonably. 

Jesus never killed anyone. He is the source of all life, physical and spiritual. But when Pilate presented Him next to the murderer Barrabas, and said, “Choose one to live, and one to die,” the people chose the death-dealer to live, and the life-dealer to die. 

Three

How could they have done it? How can we? 

In Peter’s homily after his first miracle, he throws this unspeakable irony at the people. He says, “You denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you, while the author of life you put to death” (Acts 3:14-15).

It’s so stark when you put it that way. You killed the source of life and preferred a cause of death. How could anyone ever do such a thing?

But, of course, that’s every single sin. Every single sin involves choosing what will destroy us and rejecting what will save us. So the question isn’t just why did a group of people a couple of thousand years ago choose Barrabas over Jesus? The real question is: why do we do that right now?

Four

Addiction is Easy. Healing is Hard.

Sin is addictive, and addictions are what destroy us. Whether it’s alcoholism or sex addiction or a constant feeling of resentment or anxiety, those things destroy our soul, and they destroy our happiness. But it’s a lot easier to give in to the addiction than it is to fight against it and break free. So people prefer what will kill them physically and spiritually to what will save them.

Jesus could have saved the Pharisees from their addictions. He could have healed them from their self-righteousness, and their need to be looked up to, from the bitterness and hate that was eating away at their souls. But it would have been so difficult. It would have meant such humiliation, an admission that they’d been wrong about almost everything their whole lives. 

They could have been cured. They could have been given new life. But it would have been really hard. So they chose a less painful path. They chose the path of death. They chose Barrabas. 

We have the same choice. Life or death. Healing through Christ, or destruction through addiction to sin. What’s it going to be?

Five

Choose the Lord of Life

Christ rose again. He rose for the same reason He did everything else: to give us life and freedom from our sins. After St. Peter accuses his listeners of choosing a murderer instead of the Lord of life, he tells them that it’s still not too late. He tells them that Jesus resurrected precisely to offer them that choice that God had been setting before people of faith since the time of Moses. We can forsake the death of sin by accepting healing from the Risen Lord, “God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.” (Acts 3:26).

So now’s the time: this Easter Season, reflect on the main area in your life where you’ve chosen Barrabas over Jesus. The sins that will kill you vs. the Lord that will give you life. And yes, it’s always easier to choose your habitual sin than to choose the healing that Jesus offers. But Christ is the Lord of life. Even when it seems like your vices are hopeless, His Resurrection shows that there’s no limit to the restoration He can offer.

You just have to do two things: Recognize that it’s going to be hard to be healed. That’s why you’ve chosen Barrabas in the past so often – because it’s easier to choose the way of death than the slow and painful rehabilitation of life. But also recognize that with Christ, the Lord of life, all things are possible. He holds the gift of everlasting life and everlasting happiness in His hand.

Ask Him for His Grace, His Mercy, and the Resolution to live a New Life with Him. Tell Him that you want to live, and you want to live with Him. And trust that He who was raised can raise you too to newness of life. 

Suggested Resolutions:

Choose one resolution for today to help you grow closer to God, or create your own. Here are some ideas to inspire you.

• When you consider your addictions this week, remind yourself that to choose sin is to choose death. Whether it’s an act that destroys human dignity or simply wastes the time that God has given you, repeat to yourself, “I have set before you life and death… choose life, that you may live”

• Ask Him for His Grace, His Mercy, and the Resolution to live a New Life with Him. Tell Him that you want to live, and you want to live with Him. And trust that He who was raised can raise you too to newness of life.