Sunday Vigil
Memorial of Saint Stephen (+1038), king of Hungary. He was converted to the Gospel and promoted the evangelization of his country.
Reading of the Word of God
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Whoever lives and believes in me
will never die.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
Joshua 24,14-29
'So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shall serve Yahweh.' The people replied, 'Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods! Yahweh our God was the one who brought us and our ancestors here from Egypt, from the place of slave-labour, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and who kept us safe all along the way we travelled and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And Yahweh has driven all the nations out for us, including the Amorites who used to live in the country. We too shall serve Yahweh, for he is our God.' Joshua then said to the people, 'You will not be able to serve Yahweh, since he is a holy God, he is a jealous God who will not tolerate either your misdeeds or your sins. If you desert Yahweh and serve the foreigners' gods, he will turn and maltreat you anew and, in spite of having been good to you in the past, will destroy you.' The people replied to Joshua, 'No! Yahweh is the one we mean to serve.' Joshua then said to the people, 'You are witnesses to yourselves that you have chosen Yahweh, to serve him.' They replied, 'Witnesses we are!' 'Then banish the foreign gods which you have with you and give your allegiance to Yahweh, God of Israel!' The people replied to Joshua, 'Yahweh our God is the one whom we shall serve; his voice we shall obey!' That day Joshua made a covenant for the people; he laid down a statute and ordinance for them at Shechem. Joshua wrote these words in the Book of the Law of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there, under the oak tree in Yahweh's sanctuary. Joshua then said to all the people, 'Look, this stone will be a witness to us, since it has heard all the words that Yahweh has spoken to us: it will be a witness against you, in case you should deny your God.' Joshua then dismissed the people, every one to his own heritage. After this, Joshua son of Nun, servant of Yahweh, died; he was a hundred and ten years old.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
If you believe, you will see the glory of God,
thus says the Lord.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia
We are faced with a solemn choice by the whole of Israel at the end of another stage in its history, when it finally finds itself in possession of the land that the Lord had promised to its fathers. It is a question of choosing whether to "serve" the Lord or other gods. The land hey entered is full of many devotions. Palestine, like the entire Ancient Near East, from Mesopotamia to Egypt, was populated by different peoples and each possessed its own gods. "To serve" means to submit, to listen, to depend on someone. It is a key word in the choice Israel has to make. One cannot remain indifferent or uncertain before the Word of God. It is necessary to choose in a world where one is often chosen by common opinion or where one always prefers to delay. Joshua places Israel before the story of liberation willed by God for him, which Israel acknowledges in his reply, an indispensable premise of this choice: "For it is the Lord our God who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight. He protected us along all the way that we went." The memory of God's love for us remains the prerequisite for renewing our faith and giving our allegiance to the Lord, to "serve him" and to abandon those idols that still hinder the growth of our humanity and our faith.