As For Me And My House, We Will Srve The Lord

11th Sunday after Pentecost

Proper 16

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

John 6:56-69

"but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

"Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;"

24:1 ¶ 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 Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods.

14 "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

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."

56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.

58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

59 This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

60 ¶ Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"

61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?

62 Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?

63 It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

64 But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him.

65 And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."

66 After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him.

67 Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you also wish to go away?"

68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life;

69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Grace and Peace to you from Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus who is the Christ. Amen

"There was a man who lost every job he had, but one day he got a very simple job in an orange factory. He was told: "Just put the big oranges in this box, the medium- sized oranges in this box, and the smallest oranges in this box." But not long afterwards, he came up to his new boss and said, ’’I quit’"’ ’

"But why?’! asked the boss in amazement.

’’I cannot take it "he replied, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!’!"

Yes, decisions are part of life. Decisions are difficult, some are easy, some need to be made in a split second, some need to be made to protect life, some decisions to need to be made now or they will never be made.

All of the different kinds of decision. which we are called upon to make can be seen in the following story:

"On the rugged wave-beaten cliffs on the west coast of Scotland a man was once gathering the eggs of the sea birds which nested there. He had been let down from the top of the cliff by a rope to the ledge where the nests were, but, in a moment of carelessness had let the rope slip from his hand.