Sunday 12 November 2017
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Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 (NRSV)
Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Long ago your ancestors—Terah and his sons Abraham and Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan and made his offspring many.’ Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, we will serve the Lord!” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and him we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem.
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Joshua is preparing to go the way of Moses and the Patriarchs; to die and be numbered among the ancestors of the people. As he does so, he challenges the people to choose whom they shall serve. He does not mention God but rather sets up two false idols for them to follow. They respond by saying that they too will follow God. Even when Joshua portrays God as one who will demand that they follow only God, they continue steadfast in their response. They will fail at this, as we find in the stories that follow this moment. But here and now, they are steadfast. Today we are challenged to do likewise. And as we do so, remember that false idols are not a thing of the past. There are all sorts of false idols seeking to divert our attention away from God. Will we remain steadfast? If we fail to ask for God's help, we will likely fail as did our spiritual ancestors. But if we ask for God to help us, we can remain steadfast and unmoveable.
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Fr. Timothy Alleman
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