Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
(Joshua
24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)
A man is
experiencing severe memory loss. He
cannot do many things that most adults take for granted. Driving a car is out,
and so is much reading. But he is not depressed. He cherishes the things that he can do. Everyday he walks to look at the ducks in a
large pond. He sits on a bench where, he
says, there is always a refreshing breeze.
At the end of the walk he thanks God for giving him these gifts of
nature.
In today’s
first reading Joshua expresses a similar gratitude to God. In his discourse to all Israel he recalls the
blessings God bestowed on their ancestors.
God made them abundant and rescued them from slavery in Egypt. He cleared for them a land where they may
prosper. Joshua wants the people to thank
God for his manifold kindness.
All of us
have received many blessings from God. But
when things become difficult, we tend to forget His goodness and wonder whether
He exists. The wise, like my friend, will
notice that God does not abandon them.
He bestows continued, simple blessings worthy of continued thanks.
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