21st Sunday Week in Ordinary Time
Joshua 24:1–2a, 15–17, 18b; Eph 5: 21-32; John 6: 60-69
Dc. Larry Brockman
So, what God are you going to serve?
You think that’s a silly question? It wasn’t a silly question for Joshua’s people. Although they had been through a lot during the Exodus with the Lord, and the lord had saved them multiple times, there were many people who grumbled the whole way. They longed for the comfort and peace of the life they had before they left Egypt. But our first reading makes it clear that they rose to the occasion this time as they looked across the river at the Promised Land, a land that was lush and green instead of a barren wasteland like the Sanai had been.
How about you? Do you feel it’s a silly question? After all, you are here at Mass this morning. You have made your choice, right. But the proof is in the pudding, isn’t it. So, ponder this: Just how involved are you with God in your life these days? Do you make God your constant companion during the day, guiding your every decision? How much time a week do you devote to your relationship with God? 1 hour? 2 hours? Just Mass on Sundays? Do you spend the kind of time with God that you spend with your friends? What kind of a friend would God think you were if he saw you just an hour a week?
You know, it is hard, isn’t it. It’s hard to believe in all of this that we preach. Just like the disciples who walked away from Jesus said in today’s Gospel: this is hard- that the bread that Jesus gives us is his flesh, that we must eat that bread to gain everlasting life. and that we have to believe that He, Jesus, is the Resurrection and the Life. Life seems like the barren desert on one side of a river at times; but we aren’t peering over that river at a land flowing with milk and honey. We have to take it on Faith that the Promised Land will be there forever for all of us who believe. Yes, it is hard.
So we allow ourselves to be seduced by what seems so real to us- the things of this world. Friends, money, power, good food and comforts, and lots of social activities- these things take all of our time and energy, and they all seem so good to us. They feel so right.
But where does all that lead? Well, all these things of the world can become our focus on life. In other words, they can become our god. If that is what takes our time for all but an hour or so a week rather than God, then time tells us what our focus is.
But then something happens. Something always happens And we face into the reality that life here as we know it doesn’t last forever. Maybe it’s the loss of a loved one, or an illness, or some accident that disables a friend, or a financial disaster. When these things happen we think that maybe, just maybe, we should look for a better focus on life. It is then that we think maybe we ought to do as the Israelis promised- to follow the Lord.
So, why not do that now, be proactive about it? If you do that right, you will be able to visualize what everlasting life will be like because when you become intimate with God, he will show you the way, his way. And he will give you a glimpse of the eternal bliss we all hope for, a glimpse across the river to the Promised Land.
But how do we do it right? First, by repenting- yes repenting. Now before you get all excited and defensive, recognize that repenting just means making a change. In this case, it means making a change in the basic direction of your life. You need to change your focus. Your focus needs to turn toward the Lord Jesus Christ and his will for you. And how do you do that- by giving Him more time. Yes, by giving him more time so you can become more intimate with him.
Second, by reaffirming your belief in the Lord. You know, for the last several weeks, the Gospel stories have all built up to the conclusion we hear today. Either the people Jesus was teaching would come to believe in his word and accept his offer of the bread of life, or they would reject it. You now have that same choice. You should be coming here each week because you believe, and because the Church has made the bread of life available to all of you as the Eucharist. And you should hunger for that bread, and affirm that you believe because if you do that, then you will live forever. It was a promise Jesus gave us, and it is the focus and meaning of life we are all need. When we face the reality that life on this earth, no matter how good or bad it seems today, is just not what it’s all about, we will come t6op that conclusion.
So, spending more time with the Lord and believing in what he teaches, these are a good start. But then third, we need to cement our change in focus by becoming a servant of the Lord. This is what it means to put into practice what we learn from the first two things I mentioned.
When you look at the second reading today, think of it in that way- becoming a servant of the Lord. Because the family structure that Paul describes there is the pattern that God intends for his family- love, mutual respect, and obedience between the husband and wife. But it means even more than that because Paul is also using marriage as a metaphor about the relationship between Christ and the Church. We are the Body of Christ, and so all together we are the Bride in the metaphor. That’s what Paul means by that last line: “This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church”
Boy have I got a deal for you. You see, this is the time of year when we set up booths around the narthex that describe all the different ways that you can get more involved with God and with the Church. It all starts next weekend, and I encourage all of you to take a serious look. There are many ways to bolster your prayer life- like prayer groups and the Adoration Chapel; many ways to get to know God better- like Bible Studies and the Dynamic Catholic movement; and many ways to serve the Lord and others- like St. Vincent de Paul and ministry to the sick. People from these and many other organizations will be there to give you information and answer questions. But do yourself a favor- make a commitment in time and effort to be of more service.
I leave you with this final thought. What God are you going to serve?
Tags: Changing Your Focus, Choosing God