“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.”
When I was assigned to St. Joseph in Amherst, I took a quick run through Beaver Creek Reservation, and as I was running back to the rectory, I decided to cut through the football fields. I recognized a familiar sound. I’ve always thought it was construction workers with an electric sledgehammer, but it turns out it is some kind of metronome device used for the marching band practice. I couldn’t believe it! There had to be over a hundred kids listening to that annoying sound, marching step by step to the beat – for hours at a time! There were drummers practicing, among other instruments – it was quite the production! (I talked to a couple of them who were serving for mass, one being the drum major, and they told me that in the last weeks of summer, they had 14-hour days, and now that school is in session, they practice every day after school for two hours!)
I continued running… next, my trek took me by the soccer goals, where there were about 40 kids practicing drills. Two separate offense and defensive lines were practicing on either side of the field. Again, probably another hundred kids on the field going over plays. There was a ton of energy in that field, and it was quite a sight to see! I began thinking: “What is it about sports that draws these kids? What is it that makes them so dedicated? These kids practice EVERY day after school for HOURS! And they want to! For what?“
I can’t help but think of when my former pastor, Fr. Martello, asked me to run the parish’s Confirmation program. At the time, this was a program for freshmen and sophomores. I enjoyed doing this -working with the teens and the facilitators- but I have to admit it was absolutely EXHAUSTING! Now, believe me, I want to help people and accommodate them, but it was ridiculous how many times kids had to leave early or come late because they COULDN’T miss a practice/scrimmage/game. I would often say to the parents: “What’s more important.” And the response was commonly: “Father, can’t they do both?” Well, yes, they can, but to a point! At some point, you do have to choose. This is where Joshua’s challenge rings true: “If it does not please you to serve the lord, decide today whom you will serve.” I think after praying with this passage, I’m not doing it anymore… no more allowing sports to dominate your lives… you have to choose.
Fr. Larry Richards describes this modern-day dilemma very well in his book: “Bea Man! Becoming the Man God Created You to Be.”
Most men are willing to spend time doing just about anything else – making money, working out, watching sports, etc. – rather than spend time getting to know God. I used to teach boys at an all-boys Catholic high school. The main argument every year was, what is more important – God or sports? What do you think won? Sports! Sports can become a god for people because, many times, people give so much of their time and energy to sports. Every year, I’d have the same conversation.
“Gentleman, what do you want to do this year?” I’d ask.
“We are going to be state champions, Father,” my Catholic School students would reply.
“Whoa, state champions. I’m impressed. What are you going to do, gentlemen, to become state champions?”
Do you know what they would say? They will have to spend four hours a day, every day, throwing a football, kicking a soccer ball, or hitting a hockey puck; the swimmers will have to wake up at 4:30 in the morning to start swimming – and they did it. They still do it to this day so they can become state champions. They did it gladly. Can you imagine?
Years ago, the football team actually became the state champions! Those kids were at the top of the world! “Look at us, we’re state champions.” A lot of them went to college and received full scholarships. But now, they are doing nothing when it comes to sports! Nothing! When they get to be my age, they will tell their sons, “When I was your age, son, I was a state champion football player,” And their kids will look at them and say, “Shut up, Dad. You are just fat and bald now – nobody cares.”
People put all this time and energy into things that are passing and ultimately will not matter. If I asked those same kids, “Gentlemen, what are you doing this year?”
“We are going to be state champions.”
“What are you going to do to prove to me you are going to be state champions?”
If they say, “Well, we are going to practice once a week, if we feel like it, for forty-five minutes to an hour, and we are going to have good thoughts about the game.”
I would say: “Wrong answer, gentlemen. You are going to be horrible in sports. You are not going to go anywhere if you give it only forty-five minutes to an hour and add some good thoughts.”
I love this passage because it is how many of us so often approach our spiritual lives!!! Really!? Is this going to win you the game in the spiritual life? Is this kind of commitment going to get you to heaven? Is this what Jesus suffered and died for?
What is so commendable about Joshua is that he took a stand.
“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.”
“As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
I repeated that last line for a reason- Who will you serve? To whom will you dedicate your time and your energy too?
Who or what preoccupies your thoughts and desires? What are you most dedicated to?
Now, I know the immediate answer most will say is “God.” but if we are honest… if we really look at how we order our lives, we will probably find that we are really not as dedicated as we think. Really, think about this. How much time and energy do you really dedicate to focused practice? These grade school and high school kids will spend three hours every day after school in sports. How much time ought we spend ‘practicing’ our faith, getting to know God, learning, praying, and being intensely focused on God? Think about all of the things that you pour your energy into, willingly or unwillingly. Think about what consumes your mind and what you spend the most time and energy thinking about. Is it really God?
What I’m asking you to do today is the same thing that Joshua commanded. “Decide today whom you will serve.”
Here are three ways that I think this can be done:
Dedicate yourself, your heart, your home, and your family to God. “As for me and my family we will serve the Lord.” Take command and control of your family and choose to dedicate yourself to the Lord. Stop giving in to all of the other things, activities, and events that are less important. Make a concerted choice to put God first. Actually, do this. Make it some kind of ritual – hang a crucifix or paint these words on your front door. Claim yourself and your family to Christ, and do so BOLDLY.
Make a daily “Holy Hour.” Now, I know this may seem difficult, but think about it: we are talking about investing in eternal life! Kids will spend hours in sports, and you may spend hours at work, with a hobby like golf, or watching TV. “Where your treasure is, there is your heart….” “Could you not watch one hour with me?” (Mt 6:21; 26:40) You can make time in your life. You need to make time in your life every day in a dedicated and focused time with God. Do this, if possible, at your church in front of the Blessed Sacrament (For further reading, see “24 Reasons for Spending a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament.”
I hear it from ‘practicing’ Catholics all the time. They’ll start by saying, “Father, I’m a good Catholic… I go to mass on Sundays, and Father, I pray every day.” “How do you pray?” I ask. “Well, I don’t really spend time in prayer, but I talk to God all the time; well, actually, mostly when I need something.” We need to have that same dedication that we have to sports, work, and hobbies, and even more so, we need to have it with God. Traditionally, the Saints have called for a ‘holy hour.’ The idea is that if we are really committed to Christ and serious about serving the Lord, then we need to spend at least one hour with Him every day.
Come early and stay late. I’ve noticed this more and more in my parish, and I know it happens in others. People come late to mass and leave early. I know, I know.. this is hard for me, too, especially when it’s the early mass! But, if this is the source and summit of our faith… that is to say, if the Sunday Eucharist is ‘game day,’ then we simply cannot be coming in late. Every time we leave early or come late, we are making a choice to put something else in front of God… we are creating an idol. Every time we leave early or rush out to something else – we are placing that thing or event above God. If you are leaving early to get home and watch TV, you have just made TV an idol. If you leave early to get to a sporting event, you worship an event above God. If you are leaving early to go to breakfast, you are placing food above God… whatever it is, you have just created and worshiped an idol because you have either come late or left early from the event that is supposed to be the center of our lives.
Today, God is asking you to make a choice. He is asking you to look at your life and what you are dedicated and committed to, and He is asking you to choose “Who you will serve.” For the followers of Jesus, this was a ‘hard saying’, and many of them left. “Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, summoning their elders, their leaders, their judges, and their officers. When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people and he forced them to make a choice. And with great conviction, he dedicated himself and claimed his family for God. As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
Today, dedicate yourself to Christ, make a resolution to a daily holy hour, and come to mass early and stay late.
Today, decide whom you will serve… as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
