Saturday of the 19th week in ordinary time year A
Joshua 24:14-29 Mat. 19:13-15
Theme: Whom are you serving?
In the 1st reading of today, we see that Joshua has continued from where Moses stopped with the people of Israel. He is admonishing them today to serve God and be loyal to him, unlike what their fathers did across the river and in Egypt, by serving other gods. At the end of his speech, he raised a very important question that needs response from everyone, “whom shall you serve?”. The gods your fathers served across the river or the gods of the Amorites. He has already made a choice for himself and his household, and they will serve the Lord.
Interestingly, the people rejected the other gods and promised to serve the Lord, after recounting all he has done for their fathers. They all promised their loyalty to God almighty. But Joshua made it clear to them that loyalty to God almighty entails holiness of life and living according to the word of God.
The people of Israel made a choice and pledged their loyalty to God almighty. With the choice they made, they entered a covenant with God at Shechem. In different ways in our lives, we have also declared for God publicly, how well are we doing with the choices we have made to ourselves and to God almighty. When we receive the sacraments, we are pledging our loyalty to God. Today is a good opportunity for us to evaluate how faithful we have been to all the promises we have made to God almighty at one time or the other in our lives. If we have done very well at the end of our assessment, then thanks be to God, but if we have not done very well, then we must put in more effort to do better.
The choice to serve God is freely chosen by everyone of us, so let us do all within our power, trusting in Gods grace to remain loyal to our heavenly father. Sometimes we allow the challenges and difficulties of life to make us go against the promises we have made to God, just like the Israelites did on their way to the promised land. The true test of our loyalty is seen in times of difficulties, and not when everything is going on well as planned. Let this consciousness always guide your actions whenever you are faced with difficulty. It is at such moments that we must trust in God, do our best and look up to him in faith. He is a faithful God, never loose sight of this fact. May the Lord grant us a steadfast spirit, in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.