"You're My Idol": A Reflection on the First Reading for August 26th, 2018: Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18

1 Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, `Your fathers lived of old beyond the Euphra'tes, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. 15 And if you be unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." 16 Then the people answered, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; 17 for it is the LORD our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; 18 and the LORD drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land; therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."

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“Choose this day, whom you will serve”.

Who are you serving? At face value it is easy to think we are serving God because we don’t always recognize the false idols in our lives. We worship at church on Sundays, but are we faithfully worshiping God all week, or is it possible we’ve failed to even realize that something else has secretly become the priority of our desires, energy and praise? Where do we find our self worth? Is it in our appearances, our jobs, our pride, our wealth, or maybe even in our sexuality? All of these have the potential to become false gods in our lives.

In light of the sex abuse scandal that has shaken the Catholic Church recently, we are at a pivotal time where all leaders must be called forth to choose this day, whom they will serve.

God is bringing to light the sin that has a hold on His Church—preventing her from flourishing. After being used for purposes other than what God intended, sex has become a false idol that is gripping our world both inside and outside of the church. We are seeing many prominent leaders fall from grace as the truth of their actions come to light.

Peter Herbeck recently shared his thoughts through Renewal Ministries on the current crisis in the church. God spoke to him while he was on mission in 2016, prompting Peter to write the following in his prayer journal: “The days ahead will be marked by growing chaos and confusion. I am coming to purify my Church. I am about to bring down the idols that hold my people in bondage; I will expose the hypocrisy of the mighty and the strong, both in the Church and in the world.” 

God wants to purify His Church. It is my prayer that Pope Francis will gather all church leaders—just as Joshua did—to begin the purification process. The church must repent for the grave sins it has committed in order to grow and become the beacon of hope God intended her to be.

This message is equally important at home within our domestic churches. As leaders within our own homes, we also need to heed the words of Joshua and decide who we will serve in our homes. For those of us with children, we have the additional responsibility of raising our children in the faith to worship God.

Perhaps now is a good time to reflect on your own life—to ask God to reveal to you any areas in your life that may be preventing you from fully and definitively worshipping God. In doing so, let us pray that through repentance, we as individuals, as well as the Church, will be purified in order that our light will shine through the darkness that has cast its shadow in the world. Let us remain faithful to God and His Church during this pivotal time.

Tammy LeBlanc

"... let us pray that through repentance, we as individuals, as well as the Church, will be purified in order that our light will shine through the darkness that has cast its shadow in the world." - Tammy LeBlanc (Ora Reflections)