Friday of the
Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Joshua 24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)
Once crossing the Bay Bridge into San Francisco, I came
to the toll booth and was waved on. When
I stopped to inquire why I didn’t have to pay, the toll collector said that the
woman in the car ahead of me paid my toll.
I do not know the reason for the woman’s generosity. She did not know me. Indeed, she could hardly have even seen me. I presume that she felt grateful about
something in her life and just wanted to help another person.
As the woman was probably the recipient of a favor that
she had received, Joshua reminds the Israelites in today’s first reading that
their fortune is not their own doing.
Indeed, God has been their benefactor at every stage of their illustrious
saga. The point is that the people
should be grateful to God by heeding His commands which are in good part
directed to social solidarity.
We must beware that selfishness and greed does not allow
us to forget God and neighbor. All of
us, as Joshua says, are beneficiaries of land that we did not till and cities
that we did not build. Richly endowed by
our forebears, we are not so much to pay them back as to pay others forward. That is, we are to give thanks by helping
others. We are to contribute to efforts
which shape a society where everyone can live, grow, and prosper.
