Sermon October 30, 2011

Joshua 3:7-17, Psalm 107:1-7, 33-37

1 Thessalonians 2:9-13,Matthew 23:1-12 

“God is with Us”

Imagine this morning's story, told from those who were there:

“I was just a little girl when Moses died. So Joshua was the only leader I really ever knew. He was the one I saw teaching the elders; then the elders of our tribe carried God's message to a meeting of the rest of us old enough to listen. He was such a strong leader, chosen by God—I saw no difference in quality between what I knew of Moses and what I knew of Joshua. They were different people, but God spoke to both and led us through each one of them.”

“Well, I was an elder when Moses died—he'd been our leader far too long and was so set in his ways. He should have retired years before he died, but he didn't ask me. Joshua wasn't new blood either—he was too much like Moses, didn't take enough initiative. He even led us through the Jordan just like Moses led us through the Red Sea—where's the originality?”

“I was an elder and then a priest during Moses' time—a great leader who has no equal before or since. Joshua was no Moses, that's for sure. Moses spent time with God—Joshua was so aggressive and impassioned. His emotions ruled him. He was too violent and zealous and needed to be, well, more like Moses. He watched Moses deal with problems, I don't know why he never learned how Moses did it. We'll never see another like him.”

“My family lived near the Jordan river when Joshua led his tribes of people into the land. We welcomed them in some ways—this far inland from the great salt sea you call the Mediterranean it's always good to see travelers, just for variety's sake. But then we began to hear them say that this land was there—that their God had given it to them several generations before. They called it their Promised Land. Their ancestor Abraham had been led here, they said, and that was six generations ago. They say they spent another forty years wandering in the wilderness before they found their so-called Promised Land. If you can't find a place—is it really yours? Honestly, they have some nerve claiming this land for their own. And Joshua? he's certainly aggressive and certain of himself.”

The mantle of leadership has been laid upon Joshua's shoulders after the death of Moses. He has been one of Moses' deputies, an almost voiceless presence in the story of the Hebrew people's journey from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land. And yet, I'm guessing Joshua's life was continually marked by his experiences all of those years in the wilderness with God, with Moses and with all the people of Israel.

Their thoughts and feelings, voices and actions would have echoed through the camps and village they stayed in these early years in Canaan. Though there are stories and truths about military victories of the Israelites over the residents of Canaan, archaeological evidence also shows that Israel lived together with many of the residents. If you read the genealogy of Aaron and Moses in Exodus you can see that at least Reuben, one of Jacob/Israel's sons married and had children with a Canaanite woman. I'm guessing he was not alone over the years. Though they had not made the sojourn to and from Egypt—were they family?

This moment in time—this crossing of the Jordan—this passing of the mantle—this first public at of Joshua giving God's instructions was a crucial, life-changing day for the Israelites. Here was another moment when all their lives would change. When the Hebrew people left Egypt, they were a settled people—had lived there for at least six generations according to the genealogy in Exodus. Then for another whole generation—forty years—they were nomads, and now they are told they can settle down again.

The change in leadership was probably jarring enough—their whole lives were about to shift from continuous/seasonal travel to permanent residency. Could God be a God of all of these changes? How would they remember God without the occasional sojourn to Mt. Horeb or Mt. Sinai? What holy places would God inhabit now? Where would Joshua go to the mountain with God? Did God live in the ark of the covenant now?

Leadership changed. Location changed. Their way of life was about to change. The people around them changed. The way that God's power was with them changed. That day, despite the fulfillment of God's promise of land, was a traumatic day as their lives instantly looked completely different.

I heard a particular church leader say many times, “The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet/dirty diaper.” In my head I've always added, “If you've ever changed a baby, some of them don't like changing part any more than anyone else—though they may appreciate the clean diaper.”

That's why God gave evidence of God' presence that day at the Jordan. God's words, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.” were meant to reassure Joshua and the people that God was still there, as God had promised. What I hope I hear is “my power in you will be as obvious as it was in Moses—so that the people will know I am still here.” So when Joshua ordered the priests into the Jordan, God's power was there as the water parted like at the Red Sea—they had to get their feet wet first, trust God—but God was there.

That's sometimes the difficult part—the wading into the waters before they part. Trusting that God will be there isn't necessarily what we're worried about—we might be more worried that others will think we're a little odd for putting our faith out there like that.

All of the scriptures today something about leadership within the life of faith. While not all of us are recognized or formal leaders in this community of faith, each one of us is a leader in someone's life. Or we might say that someone in our lives looks to us as an example even and often when we don't realize it. I can't tell you how many times before a funeral I've been told how much the example of a grandmother or grandfather, or an aunt or an uncle, a father or a mother has meant to later generations, even siblings and friends, even when they never say anything—they're watching.

We're always waiting until the right time to step out, but the current always flows and there's never a better time than now. But we hesitate, sometimes out of humility or doubt in our own abilities, whatever the reason and we wait.

We wait and we stay on familiar ground because we don't know exactly what lies across the river—what awaits us on the other side if we follow God across. We won't know success if we don't step out—and what if we do not try? Will that be failure or will that just be “God's will?”

As a leader within this congregation, I want to lead you into a better future—toward the vision that you have had. A vision of vitality and strength can await us, let us be willing to try new things with only faith to lead us. What would we be willing to change about our practices and our habits, our traditions and customs to be more vital? Does our time and day of worship look only to our past conditions or could we look to the future with flexibility? When we invite people to join us—do we expect them to conform to us or are we welcoming enough to listen and change in some ways?

I keep coming to the river, where God beckons us to cross and struggle to pray for the future that lies on the other side. I don't want to lead like a Pharisee, just piling burden upon burden—and yet I know that it's going to take some sacrifice and change if we want to go there. Some of us are going to have to get our feet wet and our hands dirty. We are going to have to carry our most precious stories and experiences, like our own ark of the covenant, and risk their ridicule or rejection.

As I look across this particular river of change, my prayer has begun to sound like this: I believe, O God , that if you call us to be radically hospitable and compelling, then we may need to change our time of worship to welcome more to be with us. If we believe, O God, that you call us to risk ourselves in mission, then we may need to invest some of our money and time into the people of this community who are struggling in some way. If we believe, O God, that you call us to grow spiritually, we may need to pray every day for our enemies and those we envy for their success, for those who have left us and for those who may join us; and we certainly need to read your word and seek out Jesus to lead us more clearly.

What first step into the rushing current are we willing to take? What comfortable dry land will we leave behind to step into God's future?

To God's glory and and infinite grace. Amen.