Crossings

Sermon Joshua 3:13-17 June 14, 2015 Ordinary Time-off lectionary

Crossings

There are all kinds of crossings; Railroad crossings come to mind, bridge crossings, airplane crossings of the world, ship crossings of oceans, boat crossings of bays, kids and adults crossing streets, and religious people crossing themselves.

Crossings used to be monumental.

Crossings used to be something the world paid attention to.

When airplanes made their debut, the world stopped to listen to the radio and be filled with amazement as it landed across the globe just a few hours later. When humans ventured into space generations were caught up in the possibilities of what was beyond the barriers of the atmosphere. Crossing into the dark mystery of space brought a new dimension of thinking about the future and being encouraged through this liberating event.

Crossings are a liberating event.

Crossings bring people into to new experiences and new life.

That is what happened for the people of Israel when they crossed the Jordan River.

They were brought into new life. That is what we say when we use the word redemption. New life has been given. New experiences and a new creative spirit has been born in people when they have crossed over into a new place. Joshua whose name means-The Lord Saves-has led the people into the liberating promise of God-the Land of Promise-the place of new life, a new creation.

God chose Joshua to lead the people. He was appointed by Moses to take them across the Jordan into the new land. Earlier in Joshua’s life he was one of the twelve spies who had entered the land of Canaan to scope the lay of the land and bring back a report on whether it was inhabitable and if the people could cross over into it a possess it. In Numbers 13 & 14 we read how Joshua and Caleb were outnumbered by their report. Ten of the twelve spies said it was impossible, it was dangerous and if they went into the land they would surely die. Joshua and Caleb had faith that if God was sending them into the land God would go before them and would fulfill the promise. The majority vote won that day and it cost the people 40 years in the desert and the loss of an entire generation before God would offer the opportunity for another crossing. The one thing Joshua had was faith in a BIG God, a Sovereign God. His faith never wavered even at the sight of giants and other obstacles. Joshua had faith that the God of promise would grant the people what they needed to break the boundaries that prevented them from going forward into new territory.

Sometimes I think we need reminders that we still have a big God today. These stories remind us that God’s actions prove God’s power and show us God’s nature. The nature of God is one that brings God’s people then and now into new dimensions and new opportunities.

God is living and active!

God brings us across great divides to reconcile us with the things that have kept us from advancing. God brings us across huge barriers to enter us into experiences we never dreamed of or thought possible.

In history we have sought equality of humanity and fought against slavery, we have sought equality for women by instilling rights of voting and property, we have continuously fought for those who have been discriminated against and offered ways to relate to our neighbor. Humanity has discovered technologies, medicines, manufacturing, agricultural capabilities that have been revolutionary in the advancement of the age. All of these actions were once revolutionary ideas and required crossing over into new territory to fight and to have courage to bring about a new creation, liberation, redemption.

Sometimes we get stuck, or paralyzed and have trouble finding the courage to do what we need to do to cross over into the next place of our life. And yet, if we look back earlier in our life we could find a place where we had someone help us in a time of need. We can ask, “Where did I see God in this?” And then it becomes clear how we made it through a difficult time because of God. And with that knowledge we recognize the other places in our lives and find the thread. Or we do this for someone else. And this is liberating to know that all along there has been God present and now the courage is there to cross into new territory again.

Looking closely at the crossing of the Jordan River we can see the power of God at work in the life of Joshua, the lives of the priests and the people that followed.

The river is at flood stage. It is the season of the harvest which means that the waters are flowing strong from the mountain and bringing the river to its fullest. The River Jordan flows from the Sea of Galilee to the Salt Sea or the Dead Sea. There are times in the seasons when the river is just a trickle and it is easy for people to cross over on foot without any trouble. But, the authors make it clear that is not the case this time. It will require an intervention from God to allow the people to pass.

The river is very deep and very wide.

These waters as many waters before are the center of attention for God’s miracle to take place. Just as God breathed across the waters of creation and God brought forth the waters of the flood and God parted the waters of the Red Sea, here God again encounters the waters for the sake of creation, God’s people. It is God who saves. It is God who brings the people to safety. To cross over requires a miracle. And God is the one to make the miracle happen.

The priests are the ones who carry the Ark of the Covenant. They hold the presence of God with them. The ark now holds the Law given by God that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai and all that is of God is present in the ark. The miracle of the parting of the waters of the Jordan will not take place until the presence of God steps into the river while it is still flowing. As long as the priests stand in the river with the presence of God the waters are held back on both sides like a wall.

1. The priests hold the presence of God. And they take the first step-without the step the presence of God will still be there but movement toward the miracle and movement to liberation won’t happen.

2. Joshua follows God and leads the people.

He is obedient.

He follows God’s instructions.

3. And when they reach the other side they build a monument of stones to remember. And they remember by the repetition of the story from generation to generation.

As New Testament people we have crossed over into new life through the waters of baptism. God crossed over into our hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us and fully present in our lives day in and day out. These Old Testament stories remind us of the power of God to fulfill the promises then and now.

To make the crossing through all the barriers of life and faith requires action.

Again we need to take steps.

The first step is to take the step.

As long as those priests stood by edge of the river nothing was going to happen. It wasn’t until they put their feet into the river that the miracle happened. Do not fear God says, I am with you, I am your God.

The second step was to follow and to lead. Joshua was a follower of God and a leader of the people. We are followers of God and we can be leaders of the people into new territory for the sake of the world. Have courage, God says, for I am the one who saves and brings new life. The big question for us today is do we want to get there? Will we abandon ourselves to the presence of God and put our full trust in God to carry us over into new life?

The third step is to remember. Through the repetition of remembrance of what God has done in our lives we maintain liberating encouragement to continue to step out into new directions and cross over to new horizons.

There are all kinds of crossings. Crossings are liberating, redeeming events. Let the crossings of the new century be monumental, world changing and attention getting events. Let us go together following God, uniting together to lead the people into a new creation in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.