“If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve…As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” – Joshua 24:15
The Scripture passages for this Sunday tell us that now is the “moment of truth.” We must decide whether or not we will serve the LORD.
In the first reading from the Old Testament we encounter Joshua as an old man preparing for death. He was the great successor of Moses and had led the Israelite people into the Promised Land. Addressing the people at the very end of his life, he challenged them to make a decision: either continue flirting with the false gods of their neighbors or return to following the one, true God.
We hear about a similar “moment of truth” in today’s Gospel reading from John 6. As Jesus concluded his great Bread of Life discourse, He insisted that people must eat his body and drink his blood to inherit eternal life. This reality shocked and disturbed his followers, so much so that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him” (John 6:66).
Then, obviously pained by such rejection, he asked the remaining followers, “Do you also want to leave?” He placed the option before them all, and with great faith Peter responded, “Master, to whom should we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:67-68).
God presents the same choice to you and me. He asks very simply: Will you follow me or not? Will you trust me or not? Will you love me or not?
I have found that it is far easier to say “no” than it is to say “yes.” It is easier to spend an hour on Facebook than to spend an hour in prayer. It is easier to make my own rules rather than follow the precepts of the Church. It is easier to say nothing than to speak the Truth. It is easier to just send money to a poor child rather than to also write him a letter.
Indeed, we flawed human beings are like water and prefer to take the path of least resistance. But, that is not the path of Jesus Christ. To truly follow Him, we must embrace the Cross. We must love God above all else and love others as he has loved us by denying our own selfish desires and seeking their greatest good.
Only with God’s help can we make the difficult decision to love like this in every moment of our lives. Let us pray for this grace!
Heavenly Father, send your Spirit of wisdom upon us that we may always choose to follow your path of love. Give us the courage and strength to embrace the inevitable crosses that will come our way. We ask this all in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
