Daily Readings - Sat Aug 17 2019
Joshua
14Now therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him with a perfect and very sincere heart. And take away the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve the Lord15But if it seems evil to you that you would serve the Lord, a choice is given to you. Choose today what pleases you, and whom you ought to serve above all else, either the gods that your fathers served in Mesopotamia, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.16And the people responded, and they said: "Far be it from us that we would forsake the Lord, and serve foreign gods17The Lord our God himself led us and our fathers away from the land of Egypt, from the house of servitude. And he accomplished immense signs in our sight, and he preserved us along the entire way by which we journeyed, and among all the people through whom we passed18And he cast out all the nations, the Amorite, the inhabitant of the land that we entered. And so, we will serve the Lord, for he is our God.19And Joshua said to the people: "You will not be able to serve the Lord. For he is a holy and powerful God, and he is jealous, and he will not ignore your wickedness and sins20If you leave behind the Lord, and you serve foreign gods, he will turn himself, and he will afflict you, and he will overthrow you, after all the good that he has offered to you.21And the people said to Joshua, "By no means will it be as you are saying, but we will serve the Lord.22And Joshua said to the people, "You yourselves are witnesses, that you have chosen the Lord so that you may serve him." And they answered, "We are witnesses.23"Now therefore," he said, "take away strange gods from among yourselves, and incline your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.24And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the Lord our God, and we will be obedient to his precepts.25Therefore, on that day, Joshua struck a covenant, and he set before the people at Shechem the precepts and the judgments26He also wrote all these things in the volume of the law of the Lord. And he took a very great stone, and he stationed it under the oak that was in the Sanctuary of the Lord27And he said to all the people, "Lo, this stone shall be to you as a testimony, which has heard all the words of the Lord that he has spoken to you, lest perhaps, afterward, you might choose to deny it, and to lie to the Lord your God.28And he dismissed the people, each one to their own possession29And after these things, Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being one hundred and ten years old
Matthew
13Then they brought to him little children, so that he would place his hands upon them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them14Yet truly, Jesus said to them: "Allow the little children to come to me, and do not choose to prohibit them. For the kingdom of heaven is among such as these.15And when he had imposed his hands upon them, he went away from there
Sermon
In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful moments of commitment and faith. The first reading from Joshua recounts the great leader’s final exhortation to the people of Israel. Joshua reminds them of the Lord’s fidelity and the miracles He has wrought in their lives, urging them to choose once and for all to serve the Lord with sincerity and integrity. The people, moved by Joshua’s words, reaffirm their commitment to follow God, and Joshua seals this promise by writing down the covenant and setting up a stone as a witness to their pledge. This passage emphasizes the importance of deliberate choice and the need to root our lives in a deep, personal relationship with God.
The Gospel reading from Matthew offers a complementary message. Jesus, when approached by parents seeking His blessing for their children, insists that the little ones come to Him, declaring that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are humble and childlike. The disciples, thinking they were protecting Jesus from what seemed like an interruption, are corrected by the Lord. This moment teaches us that true greatness in God’s eyes is found in humility, simplicity, and trust. Just as Joshua called the people to choose the Lord with undivided hearts, Jesus invites us to approach Him with the openness and innocence of a child.
Together, these readings remind us that our faith is not passive but active. It requires us to make deliberate choices to follow God, even when the world around us pulls us in other directions. Like Joshua, we must examine our lives and remove anything that distracts us from wholehearted devotion to the Lord. And like the children in the Gospel, we must approach God with humility and trust, recognizing that His kingdom is not about power or status but about surrender and love. Let us ask ourselves today: What choices can we make to deepen our commitment to God? How can we cultivate the humility and simplicity that Jesus praises? May we, like Joshua and the people of Israel, choose the Lord and serve Him with sincere and undivided hearts.