Joshua 24:1-15, Matthew 4:1-10
The Bible speaks to us today about the renewal of the covenant, the resolute nature of faith, and the invitation of reverence before God. While that may sound pretty normal for conversations inside of a church sanctuary, those are still some pretty bold claims to make! The first bold claim is the idea that the Bible speaks to us. It sounds normal in here, but in any other context that might sound like some goofy, Hokus Pokus superstition – so what do we mean by that? In the Reformed Tradition of faith, we mean that the stories found in the Bible offer meaning and truth about who God is, who we are, and the way our relationships express what we understand to be true about God and ourselves. The Bible “speaks'' to us in different ways as we learn about the context of these stories and connect them with our experience and understanding of the world. The same passage might “speak” to you one way today and another tomorrow.
Sometimes we get it right, like those followers of the way of Jesus who fought for justice in the Civil Rights movement. Sometimes we get it wrong, like those followers of Jesus who fought against the Civil Rights movement. I bring that up for two reasons. One is that those who fought are still around to tell their stories. The other is that the injustice of the Jim Crow era remains a part of our story, even today.
In the midst of that reality – and all the other thousands of facets that make up our experience of what we think of as real and true – we hear these stories about Joshua and Jesus. One is a story of conquest. The other is a story of submission. Both are intended to inspire reverence before God.
In the Joshua story, we hear a retelling of the conquest of the land of Canan, which Joshua says that God says happened by the hand of God alone. Joshua tells the story this way because he is near the end of his life and he wants to remind the leaders of the tribes of Israel not to get too big for their britches. Why? Because that’s what people do. Throughout the brief history of this tribe of people that God has formed into a nation, we have already seen a theme of God’s faithfulness and the people’s lack of faith; of God’s sovereignty and the people’s desire to be in charge. That’s not because they are Israelites. It’s because they are finite, limited creatures like you and me that can’t help but want more of what they’ve got.
Now, before we go too much further with this broad brush stroke of the conquest of Cana, I need to pump the brakes and acknowledge that this book is one that has been taught with and without a critical eye. Without a critical eye, one might start at Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (a verse that has gotten me through some tough times all on its own) and then sing Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho [Jake interrupts with this song]...No. Thank you, Jake. Not now. Jake loves that song.
Where was I? Oh, right, conquest. If we assume that conquest is what it’s all about, then we get to the part where “me and my house serve the Lord (24:15)” and figure that serving the Lord means believing that God is on our side rather than seeking ways that we might be on God’s side of things.
Seeking ways that we might be on God’s side of things is what we get when we look at the book of Joshua and realize the walls of Jerricho [Jake interrupts with Battle of Jericho]...Jake. Please. I’m trying to make a point here…and the point is that the walls of Jericho were built by other people. God’s words as relayed by Joshua remind the Israelites of this in v13, “I gave you a land on which you had not labored and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.”
This is a hard word for us to hear as we read headlines about the Russian annexation of Crimea and the attempted annexation of Ukraine. It’s a harder word to hear when we think about ongoing tensions between Israel and Palestine or China and Taiwan, but if we really want to wrestle with the problem of power and conquest we need look no further than our fellow American citizens in Puerto Rico, and our brothers and sisters behind the wall of the embargo in Cuba.
I know these are some big-picture things that I am throwing at you and may have nothing to do with your life, as far as you know it, but the point here is that we were made for something even greater than conquest. We were made for faith. We were made, and we have been called together, to recognize that as hard as we may labor there is yet a greater source of providence and care than our hands can produce on their own.
I’m reminded here of the story of the duel between Lucifer and God, where the old Satan bet God he could make a better version of humanity. God accepted and they both set about to create a new person out of clay. Then God said, “Wait a minute. First, you gotta make your own dirt!”
I don’t know if that’s the kind of thing Jesus had in mind in his encounter with Satan, but what we find in this story is a test of Jesus’ resolve to expect God to provide, to be faithful to God’s promises, and to be worthy of praise. That doesn’t mean that we aren’t expected to do anything. Quite the opposite. Satan acts as though God is supposed to be waiting on Jesus hand and foot, maybe that makes sense for Jesus as the anointed one of God whom we later will talk about as the physical embodiment of God.
Don’t let that one bake your noodle. This story is about Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of the will of God and acted in keeping with the intention of God. While this story is about the way Jesus was tempted with the things we all struggle with – which essentially come down to power and control – yet did not sin, it points us to the same place as the Joshua story – the choice of faithful worship.
The fun part about Joseph’s story is that the people respond to his rousing speech with “Yes! Of course, we will worship the Lord.” and he tells them, “No you won't. You can’t. Remember how we made it through all of those battles only to find that some of you kept some of the ‘holy things’ from other shrines? Look, we renewed the covenant once already. If you break it again it is not going to go well.” Of course, they say, “No we really mean it this time.” And he says, “You are a witness against yourselves.” And they reply, “Yes! We are witnesses.”
As the story goes they – of course – break the covenant again and again, not simply by moral transgressions but by the way their transgressions demonstrate a lack of faith in God or a blatant choice to honor another God. It happens. Before we go too far casting judgment and blame, let’s remember that we all do it. We all let our shiny boxes or our devotion to public figures or our desire for some personal gratification get in the way of loving God and our neighbor.
That’s why we have a prayer of confession every Sunday. It’s not meant to depress you or make you feel bad. It’s meant to liberate you and remind you that there is nothing that you have done, and nothing that has been done to you, that can stop God from loving you. Every Sunday when I pour the water in the font it is in its own way a renewal of the covenant that God made so long ago and that God refined through the crucible of the cross of Jesus!
In renewing this covenant we find that God continues to do as God has promised. God continues to provide for us and expects us to be co-laborers with God. In God’s providence, we also receive the moral and ethical framework to demonstrate the love and grace, and mercy that we have received – yet as Jesus demonstrated in Matthew 5:18, we are expected to fulfill the law by putting it into practice.
Seen through this lens, we are left with a question. What does it mean for us to say that we choose this day to serve the Lord? I don’t think it means just coming to church, though I am really glad you are here. I think it has more to do with being the church in the world.
Right now there is a lot of confusion about what that means. Right now we live with a legacy of Christian faith that has grown up as a part of the status quo. Right now some of the loudest voices in Western Christianity are the ones that presume our history of conquest over indigenous people and our marriage with politics as a means of control to be just and right. Right now there are also people who are working to get political refugees released from prison and reunited with their children. Right now there are members of this church that serve on public boards and attend public hearings in order to care for those who can’t care for themselves. Right now we are gearing up to celebrate the faith of this congregation as expressed by its members. Right now we are collecting peanut butter and pasta and demonstrating love and mercy and hope. Right now, someone is making a choice for whom they will serve.
Some of you may have heard other traditions speak of moments to decide, alter calls, and moments of conversion. Our tradition has those, too. They happen every day. Sometimes they happen multiple times a day, with every chance encounter and every intentional relationship God has given you. Choose this day. Then choose again, and again, again!
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, the Prophet, Bob Dylan, once sang…
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Comments