February 15, 2026; Sirach 15, 15-20; 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Most of us, at one time or another, have felt helpless. We find ourselves in a no-win situation. Circumstances around us are wrong, and perhaps even dangerous, but we can find no way to make them right. Despite our effort, wisdom, and patience, we simply cannot turn things around. So, we throw up our hands and say, “There’s nothing I can do.” Today’s first reading from the book of Sirach challenges such helplessness. It insists that we always have a choice. At every moment, God is setting before us good or evil, life or death. Whatever one we choose will be our possession. So, we can choose, and we must choose. Because not choosing the good, only strengthens evil’s hand. Not choosing life, allows death to rule the day.
We might love someone deeply—a son or daughter, a parent, a friend—and we are convinced that this person is ready to make a terrible mistake: a bad investment, an unhealthy companion, a foolish medical decision. We express our concern and opposition, but it has no result. We know that pushing the issue further will only hurt the relationship. We are at wit’s end. There is nothing we can do. But we still have a choice. We can choose to isolate ourselves in worry and anger, or we can accept the helplessness of the situation and continue to love, preparing ourselves to be present when, and if, things fall apart.
We might find ourselves paralyzed by a devastating loss—a financial collapse, the death of someone we love. We find ourselves moving from day to day, with an emptiness that overwhelms us. Our life is at a standstill. We cannot change it. But we still have a choice. We can let our life slip into depression and disfunction, or we can decide to hold on, insisting that we will live another day, another hour, until the pain subsides.
We might recognize that we are a part of an organization that is harmful in its policy or methods. This can happen in a work situation, or as we witness the exercise of political power. People are being hurt. Lives are devalued. We do not have the power to stop it. But we still have a choice. We can bury our values and live a lie, or we can insist that wrong is not right, and that every person should be treated with the respect that he or she deserves.
In life there are some no-win situations. But we always have a choice. We should approach that choice in faith because God is the one who places that choice before us. And every time we choose goodness or life, we exchange our helplessness for God’s power. That makes a real difference. Because the evil and death that we cannot erase, God’s power can.