Rev. Cari Pattison
Woodstock Reformed Church
Sunday, November 5, 2023
Communion Sunday (also Day 1 of gratitudes)
“Can you cross over?”
Joshua 3:7-17
7The LORD said to Joshua, “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.
8You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”
9Joshua then said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God.”
10Joshua said, “By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: 11the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
12So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.”
14When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
15Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water, 16the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off.
Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
INTRODUCTION
Miniature promised lands- things you wandered around for years without, but now you know that they exist and your life is forever changed.
Automatic coffee makers for one
Fake fireplaces for another
Heeled boots that are not painful
Toaster oven instead of a microwave
Audio books, so you can read without sitting down the whole time and staring at pages
Ask for them to share
***
BIBLICAL CONTEXT
Context of our passage today- in light of Exodus and Deuteronomy
Took 40 years instead of 1 year
Promised Land report:
Good news! The spies said- it’s a land flowing with milk and honey. Bad news! It’s already occupied! By these apparently wicked people called the Canaanites. Reported even to look like giants.
God exalts Joshua- and many comparisons here to Moses.
Then these priests all line up with the ark of the covenant- explain what that was.
First they have to cross the Jordan- sound familiar? Like the Red Sea.
But this one is only 100 feet wide and about 3-10 feet deep- though it could get a lot deeper during flooding.
And now they have to get to this new land, but they want to be very sure that not only are they in the hands of a capable new leader-
They want to be sure God is with them, going out in front of them.
Specifically the 10 commandments in that gold and wood box- symbolize the new covenant way they have promised to live together, in this promised land.
***
TROUBLE IN THE TEXT
Um, God’s going to drive out all these other tribes?
And also, they have this big old barrier to cross.
***
TROUBLE IN THE WORLD
This is a text that has been used to justify everything from the Israeli occupation of Gaza, to Puritans coming in and conquering the Pequot, to the Dutch East India Company coming in to settle the land of the Hudson Valley, “buying” the land in some not so above-bar trade deals, and ultimately kicking out the Native Musee, Mohicans, and Esopus by force.
Will God stop this cycle of forced takeovers of land? Of escalating violence and bloodshed in the middle east and in Ukraine? In Haiti and in some of our American cities?
And in our own lives and churches, we too struggle at times to step in to the new life God has for us. We look back at the old way, the things that have changed. We see the barriers before us- like that seemingly unpassable Jordan River- and we wonder- will God go with us?
We’re invited to step into new territory of aging years and bodies, changing societal roles. We’re invited to serve as leaders on Consistory or the boards of other organizations we’re a part of. We’re invited to take on a new job, or to enter a new medical treatment, perhaps we’re taking a risk on a new relationship.
Or maybe you’re just being called to help a neighbor or family member handle a new challenge with their health or family –
And you might wonder, “Will God go with me? Can I do this new thing? Am I really ready for it?”
HOPE IN THE TEXT
God tells Joshua to have the priests and tribal representatives stand in the gap- holding the ark of the covenant, sending it ahead of them. And the people are all able to cross the Jordan safely on dry ground, so long as that team of leaders stands in the gap for them.
Also the message that God is with them, even though Moses is gone, even though the new land looks scary and its inhabitants may be unfriendly…
We’re going to touch on this in future weeks- how to find hope in the text amidst these conquests and wars and land-takeovers.
But in this text, in the passage today of Joshua 3:
God says, “May you know that I will be with you, even as I was with Moses.”
HOPE IN THE WORLD
First thing-
The priests standing in the gap:
It’s a beautiful symbol, really, of how God puts people in our path who stand in the gap for us. The mentors and teachers who pave the way for us to cross over into the next promising phase of life. Krista and Paige…
Those who’ve held up the sign of God’s presence and pointed the way forward- maybe even sacrificing so you could know the way.
Describe Rev. Sue Dolquist, and Rev. Alison at Stoneridge Christ the King. Rev. Harry and Kathleen and Josh here.
Two questions for you-
(This is why we do mission, food delivery, deacons fund, etc.)
***
Second Thing:
It’s never too late, to acknowledge and make amends (if possible) for what’s been overtaken.
There is power in naming something that’s been stolen.
The ceremony at Old Dutch- one is the exaltation of new leaders, just like Joshua. But also there was a lengthy land acknowledgement and lamentation, with a large number of local people with Native American Indian heritage- striking contrast in their dress, to these Reformed Church pastors in their robes, and family and friends there to support the new minister.
We don’t have to pretend that the legacy of our Christian faith, and more specifically this Dutch Reformed Church heritage- is all clean as a whistle.
We can and should acknowledge the wrongs committed in the name of our faith or our church heritage. We can give thanks for the land on which this church stands, admitting that it was never ours to begin with- that the earlier stewards of this land were the native Munsee, Mohican, and Esopus- and perhaps there are ways we can give back in thanks, to the native tribes still in the state of New York, in gratitude and a small gesture of repair.
***
Third thing:
Crossing over. In what area of life is God inviting you to cross over – letting go of one thing and stepping into the new?
Liz Gilbert: show the rock
“Attraversiamo- it’s the most elegant way I can imagine to remind myself to let it go, to put it all behind you, to face the future rather than dwelling in the past, to stand up and try again. Another way to say it, I just realized, could be: ONWARD — my other favorite word. Today, let's share some stories of crossing over. I will start with one from me. Lately I've been really showing up for my work on processing forgiveness.” And she describes what that’s been like for her…
How have you been crossing over lately? Let’s share our stories of liberation with each other. There will be moments for gratitude in our services this month.
One way I feel God gently inviting me to “cross over” is from grievance to gratitude.
There will always be things to grieve, mourn, even stand up for yourself on. Sometimes you have to advocate for your health and well-being, or fairness, or some element of justice for yourself or someone you care about. God doesn’t call us to white-wash over wrongdoing or stuff down our sorrows.
But we have to watch that grief doesn’t turn into perpetual grievance- a blindness to what is good. I got these holes drilled in my eye last week, and Maria told me it reminds you you’re alive.
It made me think about my own blindspots. Do I want life’s challenges to make me bitter? Or better?
Attraversiamo- Let’s cross over.
***
The 3rd thing-
Look to Jesus for the real hope in the text- he who also calmed the waters.
He came to show us what God is really like- the very embodiment of love and mercy and justice. We read the whole Old Testament through the lens of Christ- how he lived and what he taught.
He had a whole different take on conflict and violence-
Peace I leave with you…
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…
Peter, put down your sword…
Those who live by the sword shall die by the sword…
And in the wake of all these holy wars- Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
As Rachel Held Evans said, in the cross of Christ, we see a God who would rather die by violence than commit it. On the cross, Jesus chose to align himself with victims of suffering rather than the inflictors of it.
That’s what we commemorate in our communion today…
Let us pray.