Sharing the Word for August 18, 2017

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

August 18, 2017

Daily Reading from the USCCB: Joshua 24:1-13

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SW_081211_I.mp3

The Israelites have entered the Promised Land. Joshua is reminding them of the glorious past that God has bestowed on them.

Joshua’s discourse reflects the history of the salvation of God’s people. It outlines their identity both religious and historical. This is who they are. They now undertake a new stage in their relationship with God.

We, too, have been guided by God. We, too, have eaten of vineyards and olive groves we have not planted. God has gifted us far beyond what we had any right to expect, far beyond anything we could ever deserve.

Yet our response is often parsimonious, miserly, stingy. Perhaps we forget what God has done for us. Perhaps we don’t understand it. Perhaps we don’t want to be obligated.