It's Hard to be a Man

(READINGS)

My friends the Holy Spirit is among us. I see it in you and truthfully I can testify that the Lord has protected me and the Holy Spirit has inspired me.

Last night, I was in the upper room (choir loft) praying over all at this gathering and I had to go to the restroom. I thought I would just go downstairs and return quickly, no one would know.

But that’s not what happened. About the second stair from the bottom, I missed a step and flew head first towards a crowd of my friends. In their love for me, the tried to catch me, which to be honest, was against all the laws of physics.

In that room quiet with prayer, I made a loud THUMP. The dust in the carpet made a mushroom cloud.

Everyone ran to me to see if I was hurt. A doctor was afraid I had a heart attack. I was fine, just a little sore.

Later that night, I sat before the Blessed Sacrament, contemplating my message. What message did the LORD have for me? I felt a slight pain in my shoulder, tightness in my back, and swelling in my knees and ankles. And I heard the LORD’s answer "what more do you want?"

My message "we are all falling, by God’s grace, we are not broken."

Usually, I preach on the Gospel, but today I want to talk about Joshua. This message if mainly for the men. For you see, Joshua was a soldier, warrior, explorer, and leader. Joshua knew about the covenant that can exist between men who come together for mission. But, Joshua was also a man of God, a spiritual leader, a prophet, and lived in covenant with God.

We are asked to come together as people of a covenant. As men we should come together as men in covenant. If we understand covenant, then we will see its truth. Truth is where healing begins.

A covenant bonds one to another; man to man. More important than the bond between us, men need to realize a man to man covenant with God.

Joshua knew about covenant. Joshua lived as God wanted him to live in his relationship with others and with God. Joshua was a Godly man.

That is what we should realize; the thing that makes us Godly men.

Each of us needs a man to man covenant with God that leads us to what God intended us to be; a covenant that brings us back to a masculinity touched by the nature of God.

To live this Godly masculinity, we must be in relationship with God. Joshua tells us to have this relationship we must serve God completely and sincerely. That means throwing away the false gods of this world.

These are false gods that the devil uses to destroy us. Psalms tells us that each of us walks with the gods that are important to us. By these false gods, the devil destroys our relationship with God.

It is a war on men the devil began with the first man to man covenant with God.

God told Adam to be fruitful and multiply but we have turned that into a worship of sex and lust. God said to have dominion over the earth; but, we have made wealth, power, and prestige our gods. We turned all that God gave us through Adam into false gods.

Joshua speaks that to honor the covenant with God by “putting away strange gods and turning hearts to the LORD …,"

Listen to those words. Think about your experience with all the false gods of the world and realize one thing. It is what we all know, but, probably never said: It’s hard to be a man.

We don’t say it because; maybe we aren’t articulate enough to say it. Maybe we’re too private. Maybe we’re not brave enough.

“It’s hard to be a man” when we live in a world where manhood is belittled, challenged, and degraded. Yet, it’s our fault; we’ve failed to live as true men in a man to man covenant with God. We have failed to realize true masculinity given by God. Instead, we are men tainted by sins and gods of the world.

That makes it real, real hard to be Godly men.

So, most give up. Most quit or fail at being Godly men. Most will die still trying to be Godly men; because, the devil works to destroy us.

If the devil wins, it leaves the world fewer Joshua(s); fewer leaders to bring us to our destination; fewer prophets to bring God’s word; fewer soldiers for God’s army.

It’s hard to be a man. It is hard to go through the challenges of being a child, a teenager, a young adult, middle age, and senior years without that man to man covenant. It's hard to be a man without that a man to man covenant with other Godly men that will be with us our battle against the devil. 

Each of us needs a good and Godly man to accompany us through our challenges. Godly men willing to catch us as we fall. Godly men anointed by the Holy Spirit, that lead us to realize a man to man covenant with God, realize a man to man covenant with God/man Jesus Christ; and leads us to live a man to man covenant with our Lord and savior.

To be bonded in covenant means regardless of what we know, what we see, or what we are exposed to; we will not hurt one another. We will support one another. We come to the aid one another spiritually and physically. In God's terms, it is forgiveness. 

If we have fallen or if we are broken, God wants that covenant for you. Live as a people that have declared the presence of God in their lives. Men, you are the ones that Christ calls. Men, you are the ones the Church needs.

Brothers, truth where healing can begin. The truth is that in that covenant with Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come. Joshua knew it was about the stone. Jesus is the corner stone of the covenant.

Be good, holy, and Godly men preaching the gospel by the way you live your lives and loving one another. Amen.