A Pivotal Moment - Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25

Well, the United States has elected a new president! To be completely honest, I was surprised by this turn of events. But I was even more surprised to discover that the Old Testament lesson appointed for today contains Joshua’s final speech to the Israelites before he passes the torch as their leader. You have heard me praise the Holy Spirit’s work in the lectionary before, but she really outdid herself this time. In fact, I’d say this uncanny concurrence of political transitions borders on eerie. But I am not one to look the homiletical gift horse in the mouth, so here we go!

The final chapter of the book of Joshua is deliciously rich with literary devices. To begin with, it’s a farewell discourse. This is a crucial genre of literature in our scriptures. The final words that someone shares seem to take on special significance for the people of God. The narrative leads up to, and hones in on them, encouraging us to pay attention and consider the message carefully. In his last address, his final sermon, Joshua does not disappoint. He gives us “choose this day whom you will serve… as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” If Joshua had said those words today we would have engraved them on his tombstone. They would have been the title of his biography. 

This parting commission from Joshua is timely for us. We are about to experience a changing of the guard in our earthly kingdom, and we have a choice to make. Will we embrace and support new leadership, or will we cling to the way things used to be? Whom will we serve? Joshua’s own answer totally redirects our focus. However we engage politically, he advises, it should always be rooted in service to God. This is our challenge and our priority. As we begin a new chapter in our civic lives, we must remain committed to our baptismal call, to continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers, to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

The second rhetorical tool that Joshua employs is my personal favorite: he retells the whole story of his people. This is another pattern that shows up in key moments in Israel’s history. In times of transition, Israel reaffirms her identity through storytelling. It seems as though in order to understand what God is calling the people to in the future, they must remember how they’ve been in relationship with God in the past. So Joshua reminds them. We only get a peek at this part of the narrative today, because our lectionary skips ten and half verses, but trust me, Joshua doesn’t leave anything out. He retells the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Telling our story during this time of transition is valuable too. Our political lives have been increasingly fraught in recent years, and it has become difficult to see a way forward that is not marked my division and conflict. So as our nation lays a path under new leadership, it will be more important than ever to reaffirm our identity through storytelling. Following in the footsteps of Joshua and our Israelite ancestors, we will thrive in our changing world if we can reflect honestly about how we got here. We are entrenched in this work at Christ Church, investigating our own history (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and uncovering the path that God has placed us on. I am deeply moved by the way we have embraced this essential practice of our faith tradition.

The final literary gem from this closing chapter of Joshua is, in my opinion, pure genius. When Joshua finishes the main part of his speech, the people readily accept his call to serve God and fervently promise never to turn back to their old ways. But Joshua won’t let the matter go. He pulls and tugs at them, challenging their sincerity with meticulous reverse psychology until they have cried out to Joshua not once, not twice, but three times that they will serve god, unintentionally but powerfully invoking the threefold promise of a covenantal relationship with God.

In many Bibles, the section header for this passage reads “The Covenant is Renewed at Schechem.” Not just any covenant, the Covenant. In a moment of sneaky brilliance, Joshua institutes the practice of renewing the Covenant that God made with the people through Abraham as a way of marking pivotal moments in the life of the community of faith.

We are in a pivotal moment in our life together as a faith community. For some of us it is a moment of immense joy, relief, and celebration, while for others it is full of frustration, disappointment, and fear. However you find yourself feeling here at the end this crazy, stressful week, your Christ Church family is with you in prayer, and together, we can mark the beginning of a new era by renewing our Covenant with God: recommitting ourselves, individually and as a community, to having no other gods above our God, and to serving our God with full and open hearts.

I can’t tell you how many times in 2020 I’ve heard someone say (or said myself!) that we must be living in historic times, that surely no other people have gone through what we’re going through. I imagine God has giggled every time that sentiment is shared. Of course God knows what we’re going through! And when we look back, we can see that God has sent all kinds of prophets to warn us, to teach us, to show us how to respond to our world. Today, the day after a monumental presidential election, I’m grateful for the witness of Joshua.

Joshua shows us that people of faith are called to bear witness to monumental events in particular ways. By retelling our story and renewing our Covenant. By reaffirming our identity as people who serve God, first and foremost, no matter who else holds our allegiance. Our nation has work to do in the coming months, and I have no doubt that with our ancestors as our guides, Christ Church will lead the way in living faithfully through this time of transition. Thanks be to God! Amen.