Choose
Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
“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.” (Jos 24:1-2a,15-17)
We make choices every day.
Some of our choices are for good. Some are for ill.
We pay the price for our bad choices and we reap reward for our good.
However, of the prices or rewards, most of them are rather temporal — they do not last long.
Some choices are much more important than others.
We are reminded in the readings today that we have an important choice to make and that our choice has dire implications.
We must choose whether or not we are going to follow the Lord.
In the Old Testament, the people are given the choice by Joshua whether or not they are going to embrace the God of Israel or follow the gods of the lands they were inhabiting. In the Gospel, Jesus challenges His apostles when, after being rejected by a great many in the crowd, He asks them, “Do you also want to leave?”
FAITH ACTION: That question is being asked of us each day of our lives: Are we going to embrace the Lord or do we want to leave Him?