The Bible and its cliffhangers

By Norm McGraw

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081923.cfm
Joshua 24:14-29
Matthew 19:13-15

Some of you may have elderly relatives who watched movie serials when they were young. Movie serials were popular in the first half of the 20th century. (This was before computers, iPhones, and mobile devices.) A serial would consist of a series of short films or chapters shown weekly in consecutive order in one theatre until it was completed. Each serial involved characters in a single story. Each chapter ended with a cliffhanger where characters found themselves in perilous situations with little chance of escape.

Sometimes reading the Bible is like watching a cliffhanger serial. Like watching a serial, you must follow the entire story line to completely understand the narrative. 

This week’s first reading is from Joshua 24:14-29. But to understand Joshua, you must read the previous book in the Bible, Deuteronomy. In last week’s reflection, my good friend Lou Occhi described the story line of Deuteronomy as detailing Moses’ preparation of his people to enter the Promised Land occupied at the time by the Canaanites. 

It also focused on the most important prayer of the Israelites: “Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord, Your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  

The “cliffhanger” in Deuteronomy asks the question—will God’s chosen people enter the land of Canaan and secure the land He promised them?

This question is answered in the book of Joshua. The Israelites entered Canaan and conquered Jericho. However, when they attack the city of Ali, they are initially defeated because they lost their biggest ally—God.  Achan, a member of the tribe of Judah, horded items from Jericho that he should have offered to God, thereby breaking the Israelites’ covenant with the Almighty. 

Alas, another Biblical cliffhanger. Will the Israelites recover from this defeat? As they used to say in radio, stay tuned.

After Achan had suffered for his sin, the Israelites conquered Ali and continued their dominance of the land God promised them. Then Joshua followed God’s commands in allotting the land amongst the twelve tribes.  

The book of Joshua (Joshua 24) ends with Joshua and the Israelites renewing their covenant with God. Joshua addresses the people: “Fear the Lord and serve him completely and sincerely. Cast out the gods your father served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it does not please you to serve the Lord, decide today whom you will serve . . .”

But the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord for the service of other gods. For it was the Lord, our God, who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of the state of slavery . . .”

Thus, the story line concludes with a renewal of the covenant Moses and the people had with God in Deuteronomy. 

In the Bible, God continually reminded His people of His presence, even after they broke their word with Him. Don’t we frequently treat God the same way?  After we ignore His advice, isn’t that when bad things usually happen to us? Isn’t that the moment at which we turn back to God?

He realizes that we are like children who must be constantly reminded of His love for us.  Like children, we should love Him with childlike innocence.

In the 19th chapter of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes to his disciples how we can be saved with an analogy: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

The message of this Biblical serial is clear: Love God with the purity and innocence of a child. Because we’re imperfect humans, we must constantly be on guard of wavering in our faith, like the Israelites chronicled in Deuteronomy and Joshua. 

Our inheritance from God, like the Israelites, is greater than material wealth. It is our relationship with the Supreme Being.

The responsorial psalm speaks to this totally embracing thought—“You are my inheritance, O Lord. Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the Lord, ‘My Lord are you’.”

This is the happiest of endings for any movie serial.