Friday, August 18, 2023

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.

Friday, August 18, 2017

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.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Joshua 24:1-13; Matthew 19:3-12)

A story was told of Andrew Carnegie, one’s of America’s richest men and leading philanthropists. One day a beggar asked Carnegie to share his wealth with him. Carnegie reached in his pocket, pulled out a few coins worth perhaps seven cents, and handed them to the man. The beggar was taken aback, but Carnegie explained that it was the beggar’s portion of all Carnegie’s wealth divided by the number of people in the world.

As Carnegie tried to impress on the beggar that his wealth was for everyone, Joshua reminds the Israelites that their fortune was not their own doing. Indeed, God has been their benefactor at every point in their illustrious saga. But Joshua indicates that it has not only been the Lord who provided for their needs, countless humans – Amorites, Perrezites, Canaanites, et al. -- were God’s immediate instruments leaving their prosperity to the people of Israel. His point is that the people should be grateful to God and to heed 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 back as to pay forward. That is, we are to thank God by generosity contributing to efforts which shape a society where everyone can live, grow, and prosper.