Hope

Joshua 3 (NIV)

1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

 5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”

 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

 7 And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

 9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Hope in a New YearEntering a new year.  You think we'd be getting good at this by now.  An opportunity to start again . . . again.  A time for a new beginning.  To refocus.  To remind ourselves about what matters the most.  One of the stories that speaks to us about new beginnings is the one recorded in the passage to the right (Joshua 3), as Israel finally, after 40 years of starting over and over again, enters the promised land.  Reflecting on this story, and our story, is what Pastor Fidi invites us to do in the sermon this week.  If you would like to listen to the sermon again, or maybe for the first time, you can access our sermon library here. 

At the center of this story is the experience of moving from a sense of hopelessness (40 years of wandering because of a lack a assurance that they could actually make it into the promised land) to that of hope, as a new generation of wanderers finally prepares to cross over.  They were preparing to enter new territory, covering ground they had never been over before.  There was a lot they did not know.  What mattered most, though, was what they did know,  and if they were willing to risk, trust, and bet their lives on where God was willing to take them.  As they approached the banks of the river, it was their moment of New Year's Eve, ready to move into a new time and place.  What a moment to be alive for!

As you reflect on your own journey, your hopes, your fears, and perhaps more importantly what you know to be true and what (Who) you trust the most, what do you face as you stand on the banks of the 2012 year?  What have been the things that have felt like wandering in the wilderness?  What are the things you are being invited to leave behind and move toward as you move into the new year?  Where are the growing edges that you are invited to engage?  Are you ready to put your foot in the river?