Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/082612.cfm

Arras at Saint Meinrad Archabbey

Joshua addressed all the people:
"If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

“These are changing times” has become such a commonplace we could start every homily with that phrase. It is the ostinato of our time, “a constantly recurring melodic fragment.”

But, of course, ours is not the first generation to live through changing times. Any history of war is a history of change, usually dramatic change, and human history is rife with stories of war. 

Today’s first reading is taken from the Book of Joshua, a chronicle of the Hebrew invasion of Canaan. The Hebrew people, recently enslaved in Egypt and then nomadic wanderers in the desert, now prepare to enter the Promised Land. But before their final march begins Joshua insists upon renewing the Sinai Covenant with them. Will they worship the God who has led them through the Sinai Desert or will they take up the worship of Canaanite gods? 

The God who led them out of Egypt and through the desert seemed to be a warrior’s God. If they settled into farming and shepherding the people might turn to the fertility gods of Canaan. When in Rome, do as the Romans do! What does a warrior god know about farming? “These are changing times!” many people would say, “You have to go with the flow!” 

But the Spirit of God spoke through Joshua and he declared, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." 

Joshua and Jesus might challenge us as well, “Will you serve the Lord or will you go with the flow?” There are many different, inviting flows that attract our attention, too many too enumerate. Insofar as each represents a kind of power, they might be called gods. I think of two:

The first is the god of secularity, which says the only god (or truth) is power. To survive in this world, to enjoy peace, security and prosperity a person must be powerful and his nation must be powerful. If might doesn't make right, we'll make it right later on. And so we develop powerful weapons, machines, vehicles, computers, computer programs, and so forth. If we have allies we must be more powerful than they, to insure our security. Sports celebrate power, control and domination; and which Christian church will compete with sports? 

The second God that beckons to us is Allah. Confronted by Islamic terrorists as we are, many people might think Allah is the least attractive option; but Islam is growing rapidly in the United States, and not only through immigration. Islam attracted millions of followers in Africa, Asia, eastern and western Europe during the first millennium because, like Judaism and Christianity, it worships only one God. 

A unified nation should have only one God. A single god teaches tolerance to his nation, so that everyone can get along. Whether they are black or white, gay or straight, English speaking or Spanish speaking or speak some other language, when they worship one God they get along better. The Muslim empire that stretched from India to Spain for over a thousand years demonstrated the power of monotheism. It is growing again throughout the world because it makes sense to a lot of people in a lot of ways. Allah is one God, all powerful, all merciful, all tolerant, wise and compassionate. Watch for his appearance in a mosque near you. 

Christianity is also a monotheistic religion but “Trinitarian.” Few Christians pretend to know what that means or what difference it might make. They don’t realize they are perfectly comfortable with an all-powerful, all-controlling God who might as well be called Allah. They have little appreciation for the incarnate presence of Jesus or the dynamic presence of the Holy Spirit. 

If they are content to worship a generic “God" on the occasional Sunday when they’ve nothing better to do, they may soon discover their household -- that is, their children and grandchildren -- are fascinated by the ancient wisdom and beauty of Islam. If Christian parents add the spice of contempt for Muslims to their religious opinions they will make it all the more palatable to their children. 

During these changing times when anyone can predict but no one can see the future, every Christian must decide again: 

"As for me and my household, 

we will serve the LORD."