Decide Today Whom You Will Serve!

21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time – 26 August 2018

Bruder Klaus – Bern

Joshua 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b

Ephesians 5:21–32

John 6:60–69

Praise be Jesus Christ!

If you will bear with me, I want to try to say something this Sunday about the essential nature of faith in our lives, faith in God. In saying that, I would emphasis that between one “god” and another, between one religion and faith system and another there are no comparisons. There must be a gathering in, God is one and so is His Church in Christ Jesus. In the Creed, we profess faith in the one, holy and Catholic Church, coming down to us from the Apostles.

“If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

As I was preparing my homily for today, Joshua’s talk with the tribes of Israel (from our first reading today) struck me funny in the sense that it dawned on me that for folks back then there was never any question of whether they had to serve some god or not. Atheism and agnosticism were unthinkable for those people. You had to have a god. I asked myself at the same time, what has changed really to permit people to opt out of being believers, of being religious? Why do we seem to remain indifferent in the face of the phenomenon of the so-called “nones”, n-o-n-e-s, people who, when filling out forms or questionnaires and being asked to specify their religion, put down “none”?

“…decide today whom you will serve…”

The choice for Israel was between their God, Who had brought them out of Egypt through the desert to the Promised Land, or some strange or stranger’s god. Living without God was not an option. No doubt, they would find the godless people in our world today impossible to understand and, well, a real scandal, nonsense or worse. Moreover, it is so. Our world and we ourselves, we did not just pop on the scene. We were created by God and saved from sin and everlasting death in Jesus Christ. God made us for His own in this life and if we so choose to respond to His gift, destined for eternal happiness with Him in Heaven.

Whether we are talking about Old Testament times and Joshua or about Jesus confronting His disciples in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, these are the terms of what common sense tells us is reasonable discourse. That is to say, that Jesus in the Gospel does for us today what Joshua did for Israel. He puts His disciples before a choice, not so much of which god to choose but rather of choosing between Him, Jesus, the one and only God, and nothing. Certainly, faith is part of it. Jesus’ very asking, however, implies that He has already provided access to the gift of faith. The disciples and we have what we need to respond to Christ’s challenge, “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.”  The faith to be saved in Him is not something that the Lord gives sparingly. He wills that we come to know, love and serve Him. That is why He made us for this life and for life with Him forever in Heaven, for sharing the Master’s joy.

“Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

What is at issue here is clear. The Gospel is absolutely at odds with the way many people in society today speak. The order of the day in most of the Western World seems to be political correctness, your truth versus my truth, and well, it is all relative anyway and as such cannot but be false. Misery! Hopelessness! Contemporary society does not reflect a Christian worldview. As for Jesus’ words, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”, sadly many people hear those words today without the slightest understanding of what they require of us. People do not choose Jesus on His terms. They just kind of stand there or they drift off, if you will, they exit from the scene, sometimes without the slightest provocation.

“As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.”

What to do? Well, there is lots that one can say. Let us limit ourselves for this Sunday to affirming that Christ’s grace is sufficient, no matter how great the trials we have to face in life might be. “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” What does turning to the Lord involve? Taking prayer, the lifting of our mind and heart to God, keeping God company, as the mainstay of our lives. We are never too old, we should never be too busy, too sick or too worried, to miss our basic prayers, our morning offering, our meal prayers, our examination of conscience, prayers before climbing into bed. Assisting at Mass on every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation becomes an eloquent expression of what we live out each day as we seek the Lord and strive to follow Him through obedience to His Commands out of love. The regular and worthy celebration of the Sacrament of Penance is the necessary door for us sinners to gain access to the Lord Who feeds us for the journey in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

“Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."

Think about it today! Think hard and pray hard! Come to realize that we cannot live without Jesus at the center of our lives!

Praised be Jesus Christ!

PROPERANTES ADVENTUM DIEI DEI