We’re Out of the Wilderness . . . Now What? 25th Sunday after Pentecost Joshua 24: 1-3a, 14-25
I don’t know about you, but I hate coming in on the middle of a movie. You’re sitting there, flipping channels and you come across something that catches your interest, but since the movie is already half over, you’ve missed getting to know the characters, if it’s a mystery, half the clues have already been revealed or worse yet, the person who was supposed to be the hero seems to be kind of suspicious. That’s how I feel about today’s lectionary text. So I’d like to take just a moment to share with you “previously in our story:” The Hebrew people had been enslaved by the leaders of their neighbors, the Egyptians. God raised up a deliverer to free his people and lead them to the land God had promised to their ancestors. Through many great miracles and wonders, God had kept the Hebrew people safe as they traveled toward the land of promise. Despite all of God’s care, protection, and even a physical manifestation of God’s presence, his people were easily discouraged, fearful of how things appeared, and in the end refused to do what God asked of them. As a result of their disobedience, an entire generation of God’s people never entered the Promised Land and instead wondered in a dry and desolate wilderness for 40 years. The children of that generation finally got to take possession of the land, led by one of the few people who had been ready for, and very vocal about, obedience to God’s commands, despite the apparent odds. It should come as no surprise to you that that leader was Joshua. So, now here we are, and can you just imagine the scene. A crowd of all the leaders of the Hebrew people are gathered, listening to this challenge: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” You peer through the crowd to get a glimpse of the person from whom such a bold statement could come. Once again it’s no surprise that Joshua is front and center, calling the Hebrew people into service of the Lord. What is surprising is the appearance of the one issuing the challenge. It’s no mighty warrior standing before the crowd. Instead, Joshua stands before the people, a man well over a hundred years old. You see, Joshua knows that he is at last coming to the end of his days and wants to make sure that before he dies he has done all he can to instill in this people whom he loves, the faith, love, and desire for God that he has carried all these years. And in fact, when we look at all the events that the Hebrew people had experienced since their time of slavery in Egypt, it should be a forgone conclusion that they would choose to love and serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God that led them from the hands of the Egyptians and provided for them in the wilderness. How could you NOT serve the God who delivered your enemies into your hands, and gave you a land beyond your wildest dreams? So what amazes me about this scripture passage is that there is still a decision to be made. They know the love and power of the God that led them for all these years, and yet they have still clung to the idols and gods of their past, and perhaps even to the idols and gods of the land they now possess. It’s true! Otherwise Joshua wouldn’t have to tell them to throw them out. And he does . . . more than once. As a congregation, we have been through a period of “wilderness time.” The past couple of years have been a time of tremendous growth. We have been growing together as a community, discovering talents and abilities that we never even suspected about ourselves, rediscovering who we are called to be as the people of God, and learning to see more clearly how God is at work in our lives and the life of our church. Like the Children of Israel, we too have been promised an inheritance from the Lord. Now, the kind of inheritance I’m talking about isn’t wrapped up in real estate or stocks and bonds. No, our inheritance is people. You see, we are not bound for a promised land, we ARE the Promised Land. That’s right, every time someone finds our community and through us discovers a renewed and vital relationship with God, we have gained one more piece of our inheritance and they have found a place where they can take time to rest, heal, and discover what it means to be truly loved and welcomed. Now, doesn’t THAT sound like a Promised Land? God has done incredible things for us. We have been guided and sustained by God’s hand all throughout our journey. God gave us an interim minister that only God could have picked, and who was exactly what we needed to get us over the bumps and bruises along the way. God led the search committee to the point that there was no doubt as to who the new pastor should be. God has indeed brought us to a place of new beginnings. Unfortunately, also like the children of Israel, even as we are preparing for a time of new beginnings with our new pastor, there are still things we are clinging to that will cause us to falter, things that will hinder us from being the Promised Land that so many people are seeking. What are idols, but those things which take our eyes away from God? Sometimes fear keeps us from doing what is right. Safety and knowledge are very easy false gods to follow. The threat of rebuke or embarrassment also distract us from following where God leads. Pride and dignity are very difficult idols to let go of. An idol can be anything that causes us to forget our purpose and takes us away from that which we were created to be. Yes, even good things can be turned into idols. Church itself can become an idol when we get stuck in tradition and forget the reason we come together as a church. Joshua called on the people of Israel to get rid of their idols and serve the one true God as they began to finally live their new life in the Promised Land. Jesus calls on his followers to do the same as they become the living Promised Land. So, what idols do we, as the members of San Leandro Community Church, need to get rid of as we look toward our future? What will it take before we can wholeheartedly say with Joshua, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord?” Amen.