Reading 1
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."
But the people answered,
"Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
Gospel
Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said,
"This saying is hard; who can accept it?"
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, "Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe."
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
"For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father."
As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"
Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."
Reflection
We may try to deny it, but service is ingrained in our human nature. No matter how independent we try to be, we can’t help but dedicate ourselves to something or someone. The question is not whether we serve, but who we serve. Today’s readings illustrate this point, and they invite us to consider who our master really is.
Joshua asks the tribes of Israel: “If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve…” Serving no one is not an option. In the time of the Old Testament, the common alternatives were pagan idols. Today, fewer people worship the gods of the Amorites, but there are still idols that tend to rule our lives, such as pleasure, power, or comfort. Perhaps, as we try to assert our own dominance, we even become enslaved to our own whims, serving the feelings we have in the moment even when they are not for our true good.
To turn our backs on God is not to be freed from rules and regulation—it is to lose the most loving and generous master for the sake of a flawed and fickle one. Always, God is wiser and more benevolent than our sinful selves! St. Peter understood this point. When Jesus asks, “Do you also want to leave?” His apostle responds, “Master, to whom shall we go?” For indeed, to leave would be to trade one master for another, and Peter knows that Jesus has the words of eternal life—to go anywhere else is to lose everything.
Ask yourself today: who is your master? Yes, living by faith can be challenging, as the listeners in our Gospel today observed. But we must pray for the grace to respond with the confidence of Joshua: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!”
Please be assured of my prayers for you before Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament.
+ Bishop Schlert
