19TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. These are the only days that we read from the Book of Joshua at Mass. And a lot goes on in these three passages! Yesterday, Joshua led the Israelites through the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Tomorrow, a dying Joshua will exhort the people to choose to serve the Lord as they settle into that land. And today, Joshua lays an important foundation for their new life in the land. He reminds them that through all those years of wandering, through all the battles and conquests, in every situation through their entire history, God took the initiative.

Just listen to what the Lord, speaking through Joshua, tells his people in today’s first reading. Hear how many times he acted on their behalf: “I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River. . . . I made his descendants numerous. . . . I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt. . . . I led you out of Egypt. . . . I brought you into the land. . . . I delivered [its inhabitants] into your power. . . . I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in” (Joshua 24:3, 5, 8, 13). Wow!

As the Israelites looked forward to a settled life in the Promised Land, they needed to see that the Lord was the constant guiding force through all their victories and progress. They needed to know how precious they were to him. That awareness would be the foundation on which they would build their new lives. It would inspire them to rely on God and follow him.

That foundation is important for us, too. As Joshua shows, the story of our faith is not the story of our grueling quest for God. It’s the story of God taking the initiative and reaching out to us, protecting and providing for us, and calling us to himself. As we look back over our lives, we can see how God has been involved even in the smallest details. He initiated the victories we won, and he walked with us and held us through the difficulties.

So rejoice in God’s unrelenting and loving pursuit of you! Like the Israelites, make his faithfulness the foundation for everything you do.

“Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for me!”

. Joshua 24:1-13
Psalm 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22, 24
Matthew 19:3-12